Bengal Community
"Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Educations is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family."
―Kofi Annan
―Kofi Annan
December Rotary Seniors of the MonthBy Raechelle Sandoval '18 Although the November Rotary Seniors of the month, Raechelle Sandoval and Kyle Yazzie, chose to not be interviewed, the December Rotary Seniors of the Month agreed. These seniors are Kristopher Lee, and Jessica Ramirez. Where do you plan to go to school? Ramirez: I would like to continue my education at Fort Lewis which I have already been accepted to with a great running scholarship and such. Lee: I want to attend Eastern New Mexico University. What are your plans after high school? Ramirez: My plans after high school are to continue to strive for greater things in both my running career and education career. My plan is to become a veterinarian, but to also experience the world with nothing but positivity. I also plan on living in Colorado for a couple of years and to come back to help the community because Gallup is Home. Lee: I plan on going off to college for four years while attempting to survive on my own. Fingers crossed. How does it feel to be Rotary Senior of the Month? Ramirez: Being Rotary Senior of the Month was a great experience. Honestly, I never thought I was gonna be picked for it and knowing I was made my family, my friends, and myself happy. Lee: I’m rather hard on myself, so to be recognized as Rotary Senior of the Month feels nice. Congrats to others who have been recognized as well. Are there any other comments you would like to make? Ramirez: None. Lee: Don’t drink and drive, don’t eat Tide Pods, and don’t play on your freakin’ phone at the movie theatre. Congratulations to Jessica and Kristopher, as well as all other seniors who have recieved Senior of the Month. Library BingoBy Mr. Omoth Library Bingo (or Book Bingo) began last October as a way to get GHS students interested in reading. The game is set up in a similar manner to regular bingo, except that the student is playing against him/herself. Spaces on the playing card describe the type of book to be read. For example, “a book written the year you were born” or “a book written by a female author”. Once the book is read, the player makes a book report to Mr. O and the student earns an incentive, such as a coupon for chips at the Bengal Store. The objective is to cover enough squares to make horizontal, vertical or diagonal line on the board. Once a bingo line has been made, the student can enter his/her name in the drawing for the grand prize, which will be an IPad. The game is a great way for students to set a goal and push themselves to achieve it. It also encourages students to push their own boundaries by reading different types of books they haven’t read before. Also, some lucky reader will win an IPad! Last Week's Poll ResultsLast week we asked if you know if college admissions officers are looking your social media accounts and got no responses.
College and High School Drop Out RatesBy Derek Curly '19 When you hear the word “dropout”, do you think of a high school student? Students dropout in two main and different levels of education. Dropout rates vary in different locations, ages schools and many other factors. The United States, New Mexico, and Mckinley County all have different dropout rates. With many factors affecting why students dropout, it’s hard to pinpoint one. There are also many effects on students after they dropout. The United States has one of the highest college dropout rates and lowest high school dropout rates. The college graduation rate in America is 59%. This means the dropout rate is at 41%. The United State’s high school graduation rate is at 83%, and 17% for the dropout rate. New Mexico's dropout rates are low compared to other states in the U.S. The dropout rate for colleges in New Mexico vary in schools. The high school dropout rate in the state of NM is at a 29%. With a graduation rate at 71%, this makes New Mexico's graduation rate one of the highest in the country. There are many factors on why students dropout of either college or high school, but there are four main ones. One factor is family related problems, more common to high school students. Some students choose to dropout because their parents need help financially, or a major family difficulty has come up. Another factor would be drugs. This is common in both college and high school students. Many students dropout of their education due to some of the most common drugs including alcohol, marijuana and prescription drugs. Another factor in dropping out of school would be teen pregnancy. Only 40% of teens in finish high school, and 2% finish college. In New Mexico, the dropout rates due to pregnancy is between 65% and 73%. The next factor is also one of America’s major problems. Bullying affects 71% of kids in America and is most common in high school. One out of every ten students dropout because of bullying in the United States. One last factor is difficulty and mental health problems and it is most common with students in high school. Around 40% of kids graduate because of mental disorders. 50% of kids dropout due to emotional or behavioral issues. College students also may dropout mostly due to debt or too much work. Students also dropout because of the difficulty of work. The dropout age varies in different states for high school students. The dropout age in New Mexico is at 16 years of age. There has been debate on whether or not to raise the legal dropout age in the United States. Students dropout at different ages, grades or levels of education. There are also many reasons why students dropout of school. These reasons vary from drugs to bullying. The dropout age also varies in different states. The United States does encourage students to complete their schooling, and to even further it. https://www.google.com/amp/amp.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/11/19/u_s_college_dropouts_rates_explained_in_4_charts.html#ampshare=http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/11/19/u_s_college_dropouts_rates_explained_in_4_charts.html http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/n-m-high-school-graduation-rate-up-to/article_46b2ca28-dc36-11e6-8f6a-8398e2285b57.html https://www.learningliftoff.com/why-kids-drop-out-of-high-school-and-how-to-prevent-it/ https://www.newportacademy.com/resources/substance-abuse/the-link-between-high-school-dropout-rates-and-substance-abuse/ http://www.challengediscoveryprojects.org/bullying.html College Applications and Social MediaBy Raechelle Sandoval '18 and Lucia Kezele '18 Do you ever wonder who looks at your social media account? Who decides to search your name and see if anything interesting comes up? Are any of these people college admissions officers? Do you feel your social media accounts are clean enough to not affect a college admissions officer’s decision on your admittance to the school? Do you think your social media account could reveal things about you that could make a college want you even more? There’s a good chance that your social media accounts actually are being looked at by college admissions officers. Kaplan Test Prep surveyed colleges on whether or not they are looking at prospective students’ social media accounts. 35% admitted to doing so. Of that 35%, 47% said the search revealed a positive impact, while 42% said it had a negative impact. Both of those numbers are up from 37% in their previous year’s survey. One mom, who graduated from Crownpoint High School and now lives in California, surveyed schools within 150 miles of Chicago. Out of 43 schools in the area, 67% admitted to Googling prospective students and 86% admitted to looking at social media sites. Some of the admissions officers from the Kaplan Survey shared something good they had found. These things included finding prospective students have done things such as starting a business with their mom, facilitating an LGBTQ panel for their school, or recieving an award and the admissions officer getting to see a picture of the student with their principal. But some shared bad things, such as questionable language, the story of an accepted student receiving a felony (which led to his admission being rescinded), and a prospective student flashing weapons. Yariv Alpher, the executive director of research at Kaplan Test Prep, says that a vast majority of colleges do not look at social media, but because a meaningful number do, students should remember that other can see their social media accounts, and if your not sure if you should post something, ask for a second opinion, or don’t post it at all. We spoke with Gaelyn Rose, Associate Director of Admissions at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin about social media and its relation to the college application process. When asked about how big of a part social media plays in admission decision, she says the importance is “[v]ery little, to be frank. When I consider your application, I am considering what you’ve provided me: the application itself, your personal statement, you transcripts and test scores, and anything else I feel gets at your contribution to a community. Unless you list your Social Media accounts for us to consider, we don’t go digging!” She also told us that though they don't police accounts, if they do happen to come across anything that breaks the school’s honor code, after being admitted, they do have the right to rescind your admission. Rose says “[t]his may include posts about cheating, bullying, racist/sexist attacks on others, etc.” Rose also provided tips for applicant regarding social media. “Update your privacy settings! And when you do engage with Admissions Counselors or your future peers by your choice, do so with kindness and authenticity. When in doubt, you could always explore a college’s Social or Honor Code on their website. (But really, if you’re in doubt at all, should you be posting that???)” So please, remember that although not all colleges are looking, and social media does not always play a large part, it could still affect you. You can never be sure of who is looking, so make sure you’re comfortable with anyone seeing what is posted. http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/opinion/ct-ptb-davich-college-social-media-st-0518-20150515-story.html http://press.kaptest.com/press-releases/kaplan-test-prep-survey-college-admissions-officers-say-social-media-increasingly-affects-applicants-chances College TipsBy Lucia Kezele '18 The process of filling out and actually submitting a college application can be very daunting. However, the hardest step is actually starting your application. Oftentimes, the biggest obstacle to overcome in the application process is getting over your fear of rejection and getting yourself to start the application process. All applications are different, for example, my applications to Oklahoma State university and the university of Kentucky both took me well over a month to complete yet my application for the University of Alabama took me less than an hour to complete. Every application has different criteria to meet before you can submit it, the best way to be prepared is so have your most recent transcript on file, your ACT or SAT scores on hand, credit card information ready, and all of your personal information together. Once you begin your application I advise getting all of the information done that you have the materials available for. This will most likely be your personal information, school information, and test scores. Some applications require essays which I would always advise be done last and be revised multiple times. Aside from the essay, the hardest part is getting all of your extracurricular activities and community service activities organized to list on your application. For me, this one took a week of my dad and I working together and going back through all of my portfolios. The biggest tip I can give for making future applications easier is to make a folder on your computer containing all of the information you need for your applications. My own personal folder includes a pdf copy of my transcript, a pdf copy of my ACT scores, a copy of my most recent resume, multiple essays covering different topics I have been presented, and a document that gives a description of every single extracurricular and volunteer activity that I have done. In the end, filling out the actual application is a million times easier than having to wait for the college’s response to your application. Next week I’ll talk about what you can do while waiting for your college’s decision that can help push your progress in your journey to college readiness. Poetry SlamBy Danica Daniels This month, February 2018, is poetry month at Gallup High School. There will be a poetry board in the library where students are more than welcome to post their original poetry. There will also be a poetry slam held during both lunches at the end of the month to allow students to share out with others. I interviewed GHS librarian Mr. Omath on the poetry slam. Q; What is the reason for having a poetry slam? A: Well hopefully it generates interest in poetry for students. It will give students the chance the share their thoughts as well. Q: What will students get out of this? How will it benefit them? A: Hopes that some students will share their work with others. There will be a winner and hopefully a prize given out to them but as of now the we don’t know what the prize will be. Ms. Kurpiel still has not decided on a prize but she said that there will The Legend of WitchesBy Danica Daniels 20' There are many beliefs about Witches and where the story about them originated from. Many people were asked if they believed in witches and where they thought the story came from, while most of them did say they believe in them there were some that said they didn’t. As far as where they thought the story originated from, most said that it originated from Salem, Massachusetts while others said it came from Europe. Despite their cultures most people I asked believe on the “Salem Witch Trials”. The Salem Witch Trials occurred in Colonial Massachusetts from 1692-1693. During this time 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft but only 20 of them were actually executed. From the 1300s-1600s there was a craze in Europe and just as that was being forgotten the Salem Trials was starting up. Many people were executed but it was mostly women who were being accused. On January 1692 two young girls experienced what was known as “fits’ as they were screaming, mumbling strange words and positioning themselves into odd positions. There was no medical diagnoses but the doctors did blame supernatural. There was also another young girl who experienced the same thing a month later. All three girls blamed three older women for experiencing these “fits”, and although two of them claimed they were innocent and one confessed they were all put in jail. The village of Salem were greatly concerned after a loyal member of the church, Martha Corey was accused of being a witch. On May 27,1692 Governor William Phipps created a special court and the first case brought before them was Bridget Bishop who was also the first person to hanged on Gallows Hills. After that five more were hung in July, five more in August and eight more in September. In January of 1697 the court ordered a fasting and soul-searching after the tragedies of Salem. In the Navajo religion and beliefs a skinwalker is known as a “witch” it is something that it spiritually practices but greatly feared and rarely mentioned to others. A skinwalker is medicine man or witch who has attained the highest level of priesthood but chooses to use his or her power for evil. One will only become one after committing an evil deed such as killing a close family member. They also gain supernatural powers, the most common one being that they are able to transform into an animal of their choice but the most common ones are a coyote, owl, fox, wolf or a crow. Encounters that have been discussed are described as hearing a knock or bang on windows or doors and also seeing animal-like figures peeking through a window. It is said that the way to get rid of a skinwalker/witch is the say their name in one after being identified and he or she will either get sick or die for the evil they’ve committed against others. http://www.navajolegends.org/navajo-skinwalker-legend/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-salem-witch-trials-175162489/ Comic StripVanessa G '20 SO BE IT!By Raechelle Sandoval Readers, don't forget that Ambush! News has opened an advice column. Send us anything you need advice on using the SO BE IT! Advice submission form below. You'll remain anonymous, so don't be afraid to share any of your issues with us! Last Week's Poll ResultsLast week we asked if you believe in El Chupacabra. 100% said yes.
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Associate EditorBengal CommunityArchives
August 2018
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