Coronavirus cases soar as states take action to contain it
Alyssa Chang, Staff Writer
March 22, 2020
As of March 22, there are 336,838 coronavirus cases and 14,616 deaths worldwide. Just in the U.S. alone, there have been 33,546 confirmed cases and 419 deaths. As many have experienced, U.S. schools all over the nation have closed in the last few weeks in an effort to stop the spread of the virus....
West Ranch starts new ID check-in system: A Q&A with Mrs. Hinze
Ricky Rojas, Opinion Writer
March 18, 2020
At the beginning of this semester, West Ranch implemented a new system to help protect students and faculty. In compliance with a recommendation from the district, students must show their IDs to a yard supervisor before entering onto campus. Starting at around 7 o’clock in the morning, one of the ...
Koalas in Crisis: Australian Wildfires Ravage a Vulnerable Population
Reya Mehta, Staff Writer
March 18, 2020
Since mid-September 2019, over 100 wildfires have raged in Australia, killing more than 33 people. These fires have been a huge humanitarian and environmental disaster as over 12.35 million acres of land have burned, destroying the homes of people and killing one billion animals, according to t...
Justin Bieber Returns to his Road to Success
Ashley Park, Features Editor
March 12, 2020
At the beginning of this new decade, every teenager’s childhood heartthrob, Justin Bieber, made a much-anticipated comeback after taking a five-year break from the spotlight. Over the half-decade without Justin Bieber as the center of attention, Bieber married Hailey Baldwin and focused on his ment...
Percussion Ensemble, Winter Percussion, and Winter Guard Preview Performance Provides Sneak Peek Into Upcoming Season
Lauren Guss, Staff Writer
March 6, 2020
After marching band season concluded, many students chose to participate in the winter season of color guard and percussion: winter guard, winter percussion and percussion ensemble. All three of these groups performed their beautiful pieces and routines for this upcoming season as a preview for...
Sanders 26 point Nevada Caucus victory puts him in driver’s seat to win the Democratic nomination
February 28, 2020
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, riding a wave of momentum from Iowa and New Hampshire, stormed into Saturday’s Nevada Caucus with a mission: to establish his place as the Democratic front runner. And that, he did. With now 100 percent reporting, it’s clear that Sanders not only won Nevada, bu...
Outbreak of Coronavirus in China Could Potentially Lead to Pandemic
February 27, 2020
An outbreak of a new type of coronavirus called COVID-19, previously known as 2019-nCoV, began in late January in Wuhan, China. So far, this devastating virus has affected more than 81,000+ people and killed at least 2,700 as of Feb. 26, according to BuzzFeedNews. China is actively reporting tho...
The French Revolt: Train Edition
February 11, 2020
On Dec. 5, 2019, an extensive protest was held in Paris as hundreds of thousands of government workers marched through the city, in an effort to demonstrate against recent propositions to reform the nation’s pension plans. French President Emmanuel Macron plans to create a new uni...
Adobe Flash Discontinued, Blue Maxima Helps to Preserve Its Memory
Mia Ouyang, Ricky Rojas, and Reya Mehta
February 11, 2020
On Feb. 1, 2020, Adobe Flash was discontinued across the Internet and replaced by its superior cousin, HTML5. The change, first announced in 2017, gave websites three years to convert. Fortunately, many had switched prior to the announcement due to numerous bugs and security flaws that...
West Ranch Hosts Spring Open Speech Tournament
Iman Baber and Noor Baber
February 11, 2020
It was a warm first day of February, and the sun shone bright in the sky. A large banner hung off the gates at the front of West Ranch, reading: “West Ranch Speech and Debate.” Nervous students entered the school dressed in formal attire: blazers and slacks, suits and ties. On Feb...
Distracted Driving: What Causes Crashes and How Can We Fix It?
Quynn Lubs, Editorials Editor
February 10, 2020
Distraction was a key factor in 58 percent of 1,691 car crashes involving teens aged 16-19. Whether it was texting, scrolling through social media or talking on the phone, distracted driving was reported to have killed 3,166 people in 2017. However, distracted driving means more than just cell phon...
Pete Buttigieg narrowly defeats Bernie Sanders in controversial Iowa caucus race
February 10, 2020
The 2020 Democratic Iowa Caucus was a complete and utter disaster. With many new ways of caucusing and calculating results, it was bound for failure. From faulty voting apps, to satellite caucuses outside the state of Iowa, the Iowa Democratic Party came out looking like a bunch of buffoons. Repor...