CORNER CANYON CHRONICLE

Utah'S New Mask Mandate

4/19/2021

By: Jada Clayton
Home Page Editor

Here in Utah the mask mandate has been lifted, now it is up to individuals and businesses/companies to decide if they would like to continue wearing masks or if they are done with it now. But here’s the kicker, although numbers of COVID cases are going down and vaccinations are going up, there are still many people prone to contracting the virus. There are still people who are trying to protect themselves and others. People can assume or guess that just because they are done with masks that others feel the same way, and if a majority of people feel the same, so be it, but there are the small minorities that are affected by the pandemic and would prefer to wear their mask. Going along with this, if there are also businesses, for example small businesses, where there are limited working employees, catching the sickness would impact them in a negative way because they would have more employees sick than working.
Here is where things get tricky, specifically in schools. Cox, governor of Utah, is asking that children continue to practice safe COVID behaviors, including wearing masks. This got parents upset because “We need to see our kids’ smiles. Our children’s mental, emotional and physical health matter.” (SeeMySmile.org). This continues to be pushed because students and youth are the least prone to being sick and if they do get sick it will most likely not be deadly. Plus if the concern is teachers, principles and staff, well they were given the option of vaccinations. So we see where this makes sense to have the mask mandate be lifted in schools, but you also have to understand that it is better safe than sorry and we don’t know everyone’s personal situations regarding the pandemic and home situations.
This pandemic has been quite the ride and just when we thought it was over when the mandate was lifted in Utah, we now have to decide for ourselves how to handle the situations. In regulars to school, and especially Corner Canyon, MASK UP AND STAY SAFE CHARGERS!!

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The Ancient Legends of School Lunch

4/11/2021

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By: Hugo Evans
Editor of Editorials

There are legends of old passed down from generation to generation. Legends that tell of a cafeteria free from whole wheat abominations and low fat milk. Legends that tell of real pizza that doesn’t taste like the cardboard box it came in, and chips that aren’t deprived of half their ingredients. These legends of this mystical and far-off land come by way of music and stories from a bygone age. One such example that comes to mind is the song “Pizza Day” by the Aquabats!, it tells the story of a misfortunate soul who’s only bright spot in life was the school issued lunch. My parents are constantly enthralling me with stories of their school lunch period being a festive and magical time containing delicious and sometimes even homemade food. These mystical stories from a bygone era contrast greatly with the reality I’m faced with everyday in the school cafeteria, in which the bread on the sandwich I’m presented with has the appearance and taste of a mound of sawdust. So I ask, where did we go wrong?
The answer lies in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which outlined that because of the number of kids who rely on school lunch as their only square meal of the day, school lunch should be made more nutritious. Let’s be real here, you can’t really get mad at the concept. It simply makes sense to provide a healthier lunch to growing children, especially those that depend on school lunches, until the food is actually put in front of you. And it’s gross. The chips are bland, the noodles are weird, the bread is grainy, and nothing tastes quite right. It’s an unfortunate consequence of such a gold-hearted idea. Another result of this act is that, once most kids figure out that whole wheat Cheez-Its and Goldfish taste like nothing but sand, they’ll simply not eat school lunch at all and go home to get their fix of normal food, or go out to eat elsewhere, making this act simply useless, and doesn’t really do much to solve the obesity crisis in youth that the act set out to accomplish. Plus, all this new healthy stuff is way more expensive, anyone who's taken a trip to Whole Foods can tell you that. With higher expenses and less satisfaction in the food that’s being served, the numbers simply don’t add up.
There are arguable standpoints from both sides of this conflict, with healthier meals required to truncate the ever-expanding waistline of America’s youth, and the fact that these healthier meals are downright gross, driving kids to get more satisfying food elsewhere. But perhaps there is a happy medium between these two contradictory approaches to school lunch, one that can remain semi-healthy while bringing back a bit of that mythical wonder that encapsulated school lunches in a lost era long ago.

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Historical Revisionism of African Americans

3/25/2021

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By: Mason Hughes
Editor of Nation and World News

Few leaders have undergone as intense historical revision as civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, and Fred Hampton. American Textbooks have either villainized these men, whitewashed them, or ignored them completely. Dr. King is frequently mentioned in American history textbooks, but his criticisms of white liberals and his promotion of left-wing economic policy are never referenced. The Black Panthers are often decried for their militancy and self-defense against white police officers. However, textbooks rarely mention the success of their free medical clinics, schooling, job training, or their free meals program, which served as the foundation for the US government’s free school lunch program for low-income families. Malcolm X is often condemned for his relationship with the Nation of Islam, but his contributions to the Black Nationalist Movement and ideas of Black self-determination are rarely mentioned. Why? How does America benefit from erasing the full extent of the truth around these great men?
Historical revisionism is nothing new to American History. It was frequently utilized in the post-reconstruction South to cover up the damages of slavery and deify the “lost cause of the Confederacy.” In the now-famous book Lies My Teacher Told Me, American myths from Bleeding Kansas to Helen Keller are examined and debunked. One common theme was identified: historical events and personalities that threatened ideas of Capitalism, American exceptionalism, or the Antebellum South were significantly revised or left out altogether. For example, during his lifetime, Dr. King was not only against segregation, but he advocated left-wing economic plans like Universal Basic Income and a Job Guarantee to free Americans from poverty. He was also a key activist against the Vietnam War, stating in one 1967 speech, “We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem.” Details about Dr. King’s left-wing stances are omitted from textbooks because they threaten ideas about American exceptionalism in Vietnam and because they attack American ideas of free capitalism. In some cases, men like Malcolm X or Huey Newton are villainized. Malcolm X supported Black Nationalism, which means black people should control their community, defend themselves, and lift each other out of poverty. However, American textbooks often portray him as a radical, contrasting his ‘violent rhetoric’ (although he never condoned violence and no attacks were carried out under his leadership) with Dr. King’s nonviolence.
America has to restructure the way we teach the histories of these Civil Rights Leaders. They must be presented as they were: great, flawed, complex men. Omitting information provides a one-dimensional caricature of their accomplishments and limits student’s potential. If students examined Dr. King’s positions on economic and institutional racism, they might understand that racism is more than just segregation; it continues to exist through economic disparity and police brutality. If students seriously examined their cultural biases towards Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party, they could learn that revolutionary action can bring about change and that when people work together, they can overcome anything. Students may be uncomfortable with the truths they learn. They may have to grapple with their preconceived notions and their cultural biases. But they will be better people for it. As Dr. King said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

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Are Sweater Vests the Future?

3/21/2021

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By: Hugo Evans
Editor of Editorials

Try and keep up with me on this one. Ok, it’s a sweater, get it? But, hold on now, we just get rid of the sleeves. It’s pretty much just a fabric square with holes in the sides. We can also put all sorts of absolutely hideous patterns on them, just for fun.
That’s what I imagine went down at the pitch meeting for sweater vests back in 1882. If I had been there, I’m not sure that would have gotten by me. However, it worked for the fashion aficionados of the late 19th century, who are also responsible for knickers might I add, so that might shed some light on the reasoning behind their questionable sweater-vest decision. Following an unusually long life, fluctuating in popularity until the late 1900s; the sweater vest faded into obscurity, worn exclusively in by old men shuffling around grocery stores and the nerdiest of nerds. The sweater vest isn’t dead yet, however, as I’ve been witnessing a recent surge in their popularity. My guess is that this popularity is riding the wave of the thrift store trend, or as I like to call it, the “wearing-a-stranger's-clothes-that-they-probably-got-rid-of-for-a-reason” trend. Regardless of these trends or fads, seeing the sweater vest around more has caused me to ask myself the question, are sweater vests the future of fashion?
Ok, at this point, it’s just a fact that the world is getting warmer. I’m not here to prod at anyone’s opinions, far from it, but I’m just laying out what I know. In a world that’s getting warmer, there probably won’t be a need for sleeved sweaters or hoodies. However, layering or stacking clothing has been a staple of fashion since people started caring about what they wore. It’s at this juncture between these two situations that sweater vests fit strangely perfectly. So if sweater vests really are the future of fashion, it’ll be interesting to see how they are adapted to our modern society, and what the evolution of the sweater vest might be. Perhaps other strange relics from fashion culture will manifest themselves to be useful in this ever changing world.

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SOCIALISM LEADS TO SELFISHNESS AND DEPENDENCE

3/18/2021

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BY KADEN BORG
INDEPENDENT COLUMNIST

Socialism makes people selfish. It's that simple. Now this statement often messes with people's conception of government and economic systems. Because in the western world we are taught that capitalism is based on selfishness and produces selfish people. On the flip side we are told that socialism, which is an economic system based on equity and equality of outcome, produces selfless people. Well, the opposite is true. While, yes, I do agree that socialism has good intentions, but it creates people who are self absorbed.
Throughout the history of the western world and particularly in America the goal of young people was to grow up and become independent of their parents and build a life for themselves. However socialism destroys this aspiration. In fact in Socialist countries it is often common for people to live with their parents well into their 30s. (Source 1) Why would they want this? Well because in Socialist countries you do not need to take care of yourself because the government will do it for you. This creates people who do not learn the value of hard work and being independent. And creates a sense of entitlement well into their 30s. Therefore Socialism creates people who become more and more self centered.
As people in these countries get more and more entitled, common questions arise: how many benefits will I receive from the government? Is the government going to pay for my medical expenses? This creates a lack of gratitude. And why would anyone be grateful for receiving an entitlement. People in Socialist countries often say what more am I entitled to?
Also people who live in Socialist countries give almost seven times less money to charity compared to their American counterparts who are in the exact same economic class.(Source 2) Why is this the case? Well again in Socialist countries the government will take care of those who are less fortunate. This again creates people who are only centered on their lives. Capitalism teaches people to earn what they are given, to work harder and to be grateful for what they have because they have to earn it.

Source 1 https://www.nytimes.com
Source 2
https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org

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Incarceration: Is It the Right Option?

3/15/2021

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By: Maci Waldron
Editor of Student Life

Breaking the law is a serious thing and should not go unnoticed but is prison necessary? To a certain extent, yes, prisons need to exist. There are crimes that have been committed that require a person to be locked up for safety, however, what happens when their sentence is over? Being locked up for that period of time has an effect on the well-being of the person being locked up as well as their friends and family.
   When people are done with their sentence, they have to get their lives back on track, however, this is impossible to do when in the wrong headspace. This is when recidivism occurs which is when the person released reoffends. When stats were recorded about incarceration, it explains that “within 3 years of their release, 2 out of 3 people are rearrested and more than 50% are incarcerated again.” These numbers are insanely high and I think that things need to be done to fix this.
   I believe a major thing that there should be is counseling and therapy. There is a reason people commit those crimes. Most of the time, people can be mentally messed up or come from a situation that caused them to commit the crime. Getting people health care services might help and also building a plan for when they leave prison. Getting back into normal life cannot be easy and I think there should be a set plan before having to leave. That’s why I think counseling would be important. They set their goals for life without the criminal activity they had been committing before. Statistics say around there’s an estimated 65 percent experience substance abuse. In Hawaii, they’ve been working with project HOPE which has helped treat drug abuse without relying on incarceration.
   There are so many things that need to change in the criminal justice system and this is one of them. I think that the same problems will occur until we do something about it.

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What DOes It MEan To Be HUman?

3/4/2021

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By Hugo Evans
Editor of Editorials

What does it mean to be human? This question has been floating around in my head for a while now. So, as I’m at a loss for anything else to write about this week, you’re going to have to weather my scattered musings on this topic. Or you could scroll away and read something more interesting. Your choice.
   Anyway, let’s get the obvious out of the way. Anyone who falls into the category of the homo sapien genus is technically a “human.” However, within this species, the category of being-a-normal-human is a little narrower, and changes over time. For example, 1000 years ago, it was “human” to offer human sacrifice; 100 years ago, it was acceptable to discriminate against people based solely on the color of their skin, but now, that’s downright unthinkable. The ideas that make up what makes a human “human” are constantly in motion and will stay that way until we go extinct. Basically, this concept of humanity changes depending on the social constructs of the time. Hate it or love it, our lives are always being informed and influenced by what’s going on around us. I wonder what inhumane things people 1000 years from now are going to accuse us of. My guess is probably Old Town Road or Mission: Impossible 2.
   While certain pieces of humanity are fluid and constantly changing, there is one thing that has to remain in place to consider a human a “human.” This special ingredient is insanity, or at least that’s what people who are a lot smarter than me say. Literary and philosophical titans such as Emily Dickinson, Aristotle, Walt Whitman, Edgar Allen Poe, and many others all agreed that without some varying degree of insanity or madness, there’s nothing human about you. This world is a wack place, and without the abilities granted by insanity to see beyond, through, or around certain things, you’re pretty much hopeless. Miguel Cervantes wrote in Don Quixote, “Too much sanity may be madness - and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”
   Today’s day and age is unique; with all this education and opinions floating around, there’s really no defining what the present constructs of humanity are past a few basic principles. Baselessly bashing someone into defined definitions of “humanity” against their will and opinions is sort of a big no-no nowadays. Humanity today is undefinable by any one person and is really up to one’s interpretation. And perhaps that’s what makes up the definition of humanity today: it’s undefinable in this unique time.

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Did Gina Carono deserve to be fired from the Mandalorian?

2/25/2021

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By: Spencer Croston
Editor of Entertainment

On February 10, 2021, actress Gina Carono was announced to have been fired from the Disney Plus series ¨The Mandalorian.¨ On the series, Carano played the fan favorite soldier, ¨Cara Dune.¨ Carano was fired over a series of controversial tweets that claimed a variety of things from the presidential election being fraudulent to comparing being a modern day republican to being a Jew during the holocaust. Since the firing, many people have been arguing about whether or not Carano deserved to be fired. While there are good arguments for both sides, the clear answer is yes. First of all, Disney gave Carano many second chances for her tweets, She had been given respectful warnings with her tweets about the election when she stated, ¨We need to clean up the election process so we are not left feeling the way that we do today. Put laws in place that protect against voter fraud.¨ This initial tweet got a lot of attention as many were mad at her for spreading false information about the election. As the months went on, Carano would continue to send a multitude of tweets that would continue to falsify the election, spread false information about the CoronaVirus, and more. Carano should have been aware that this would only get her in more trouble. Still, Disney was kind enough to not fire and continue to give her more chances. The final straw came when she stated, ¨“Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews...How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?¨ Lucas film said, ¨There are no plans for her to ever return.¨ All in all, Carano had it coming. She should have been aware that testing the limits with her higher ups was going to come back to bite her. Of course it's important for everyone to have freedom of speech, but there is a difference between having an opinion and spreading unverified information as facts. Carano made really poor decisions that in the end had justified consequences.

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