Grisel Gonzalez
Staff Writer All District 93 high school students are invited to bring their cowboy boots and belts to the Jaripeo dance on March 11, 2023. This dance is held at Bonneville High School; tickets are not only sold on location, but at Thunder Ridge and Hillcrest as well. Tickets cost $15 for a single ticket, and $20 per couple. If these tickets are bought at the door the day of the dance, a five-dollar fee is added. Students are required to show their school identification cards at the door to make sure they attend a D93 High school. If they want to bring a student that is outside of D93, they can ask their front office for a guest form to fill out that is due Friday, March 10, 2023. Not only will music be provided at the dance, but food and drinks as well. Aguas Marias, a new local Mexican beverage shop, will be selling their refreshments, and Taco H will be serving their famous tacos and other fares at 7:30 p.m. After dining, the dance will commence at 8:30 until 11:00 p.m. This Jaripeo was planned and executed by the Culture and Dance club at Bonneville High School with the assistance of Thunder Ridge’s Bailemos club. Attending the dance is an exceptional way to recognize and support BHS’s hardworking group. Prom, homecoming, and formal are the most common school dances, but Jaripeos are rarely heard of. A Jaripeo is a Mexican style dance that includes cowboy style clothing, Mexican food, traditional music, and sometimes even bull riding! Usually, Jaripeos are hosted outside on dirt, so attendees are able to ride bulls and dance freely. Indoor Jaripeos include loud, Latin music that everyone dances to together. Although there is no dress code for a Jaripeo, most people wear cowboy boots, belts, and hats. Jaripeos were originally just bull riding and rodeo events that originated in the Jalisco province of Mexico. The event started off as a sport that people practiced, and spectators would stand on the sides and cheer them on. As time went on, they later evolved into events where people can dance, eat, and celebrate. BHS is allowing everyone, regardless of who they are, to get a feel of a part of Hispanic culture. Everyone attending the Jaripeo will enjoy themselves, and the dance will definitely create a night to remember.
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Eric Perez
Assistant Editor The Bonneville High School’s very own choir team: The Bonnevaires is a mixed choir that is audition based, run by Steven Dresen. They pride themselves to be the choir team chosen from the best of the best at BHS. If someone has an interest in choir, it will benefit them to try out for this team. The choir is made up of both boys and girls, separated into multiple sections such as alto, soprano, tenor, and bass. Within the Bonnevaires, there is a format with similarity to army ranks. There is a variety of officers, all with different and important challenges with their specific role. The officers are then given their titles, such as the President of the group, the Vice President, etc. The diversity in the Bonnevaires allows the group to get more notice, more voices to hear, and more ears to listen. There are select smaller groups inside of the Bonnevaires, one being only men and the other only women. Apollo 6 is the group that consists of only men. They rehearse in the mornings before school, three days per week. The other group is the Chanteuse, who are only women. There rehearsals are also three days a week. Both of these groups are just as hardworking as the Bonnevaires or any other group. A member was interviewed, and stated, “The groups are amazing people with amazing voices.” Bonneville’s very best voices have brought joy to people's ears. The Bonneviares, Apollo 6, Chanteuse, and any other choir group have done a tremendous job with what they do and sing. Their lovely voices matching pitch and collaborating songs. Auditions may be over, but listening to the amazing Bonnevaires is a treat for anyone. They did an amazing job at the Hope Week assembly, and the singers will continue to do so wherever they go. Gianmarco Quinzi
Staff Writer Bonneville High School is well known for having the biggest exchange program in Idaho Falls and Ammon. The exchange student program is a way for students to improve their English skills and learn to be more independent without direct guidance from parents. As reported by Mr. Jolley, there are roughly 30 exchange students from different countries currently at Bonneville. At the beginning of 2023, Bonneville gained three new exchange students: two from Germany and one from Italy. Leonie Vogler, an exchange student from Germany, came to the United States on January 14, 2023. She was assigned to Bonneville High School to continue her educational journey. In response to why she decided to join an exchange program, Vogler stated she chose “ this experience to learn English, but also because of American life.” Choosing a shorter program, Vogler will only be at Bonneville for half a year. Vogler’s motivation behind a partial year is because she “love[s] [her] family and friends too much” to be gone for a full year. Luckily, Vogler has her “whole life ahead” to continue her travels and see the world. Hailing from Italy, Thomas Tituri is a seventeen years old boy who arrived in the United States about three weeks ago. Tituri’s first impression of the United States was that everything is different in its own way, which makes the country such a unique place. According to Tituri, “I chose to participate in an exchange student program because I want to learn something new about myself.” Tituri also expressed interest in learning about different cultures and strengthening his English skills. Expressing a different point of view. Marlene Nour Leopold, from Mainz, Germany, chose to come to the United States to experience the American lifestyle. According to Leopold, many people in the United States are open-minded and kind, so adjusting to her new life has been a breeze. Having been here for about three weeks, her goals include “learn[ing] English” and finding her own independence. In regards to Bonneville High School, Leopold feels that “[Bonneville] is a good school, the teachers are nice” and the school is full of great classes, like fashion strategies. Along with great classes, Leopold appreciates her fellow exchange students as they welcome her and understand the difficulties of leaving one’s home. Taking an exchange student program or half of it, is a big opportunity to explore the world, to discover the diversity of any country. An experience and to learn and understand the habits that the people have, anyway this experience is also a way to make friends around the world. Roman Davis
Staff Writer Broadcasting on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Anchor is The Bonneville Buzzcast. This podcast is operated by the newspaper team at Bonneville High School to speak on the school and events going on in the South-Eastern Idaho region. The podcast started in the later part of May 2022, and took a summer break along with the students of BHS. When The Buzzcast first premiered, the members of the newspaper recorded an interview with the School Resource Officer, Dan Sperry. The episode featured many of the adventures he had experienced, his journey of becoming an officer, and his experiences with the places he has been. Only this episode has been published thus far, as the team had a setback: loss of a few staff members, summer break, and more. A significant problem the staff ran into was quite a few issues with recording, especially the difficulties of the WiFi shutting them out. Sadly, this took away a bit of time and forced ideas to be shelved for another few months; one of those ideas was about some of Idaho Falls' own supernatural sightings and experiences. Back in October 2022, the staff planned to highlight supernatural experiences and thoughts on the supernatural from the students at Bonneville High School. A form was sent out to the students of Bonneville High School, getting a total of 98 responses from peers and faculty. However, the staff had technology issues during this time, causing it to be pushed back for next school year and another idea took place: an interview with Mrs. Killian! Killian teaches Practical English, Math, and Social Studies in room 201, helping those with learning deficiencies succeed in high school. In the episode, there was talk about supporting them and spreading awareness, as well as the proper terms to use and her own personal experiences teaching teenagers. One of the main things that stuck out in this interview was “Students before Disabilities,” Killian’s own personal motto. While all students have a differing learning style, they should not be defined by their disability, and instead choose to define them as a student of BHS. While the newspaper team has had a few setbacks with recording issues, IT issues, and more—the new episode is to be posted on February 7th 2023! Catch it on most podcasting websites and apps! Wondering how to support The Bonneville Buzzcast? Check below:
Kimmie Barnes
Editor-in Chief “B-O-N-N-E-V-I-L-L-E Bonneville Bees!” is shouted from the mouths of one of Bonneville High School’s biggest support groups: the cheerleaders. They are seen cheering on their fellow athletes on the field at football games and on the sidelines at basketball games, but the cheer squad also shows their skills at their own competitions. The Bonneville High School cheer team is a powerhouse. Having won three virtually back to back state champion titles (one year interrupted by Covid-19), they take competition head on. The months of January and February are busy for the cheerleaders with basketball games, the Sweethearts dance, and competitions virtually every weekend. On Saturday, January 7, 2023, the team competed in the Upper Valley Classic at Madison High School. This competition is for both dance and cheer. Teams all the way from Minico to Sugar Salem come to compete. This year, around 12 teams participated in the high school cheer portion. The competition consists of performances in various categories: show, sideline, pom, and stunt. Each category has specifications and rules for the performances. For example, pom routines have a time limit of one minute, must focus on choreography and transitions, cannot include stunts, tosses, airborne tumbling, or props, and the whole routine is required to be set to music. Contrary to a pom routine, a sideline cheer is centered around crowd involvement, similar to what is performed at football and basketball games, must include at least one continuous two-jump series done by the team in unison, cannot include music, and typically includes props such as banners, poms, signs, and megaphones. As Bonneville performed their show and sideline routines, onlookers commented on their precision, energy, and confidence. One woman even stated that they look like they are having fun on the mat. The audience was evidently not the only ones with the same sentiments; the judges did too. The BHS cheer team placed first in pom, sideline, coed show, coed stunt group, and all girl stunt group, taking the victory in all divisions of the competition they competed in! This is popularly referred to as having “swept” the competition. In an interview with senior Gracie Johnson, she discusses competition season as a Bonneville cheerleader. Johnson’s favorite part of competition season is the adrenaline that comes with competing saying, “It’s the best feeling when you’ve been working super hard and it pays off during awards.” Being back to back state champions, Johnson commented that her least favorite part of the competition season is the stress. Adding, “It’s very stressful trying to uphold the state champs title when everyone is trying to beat you.” As the busy competition season continues, the team will perform at districts and likely state. The squad also qualified to compete at Nationals this year, which is a competition against teams across the country. This season has been an exciting one, and the BHS cheer team has proven time and time again that they know how to showcase their skills and “sweep” the competition. Kimmie Barnes
Editor-in-Chief Even though the final midterm election results for The House of Representatives are still up in the air and most states voted as predicted, there have been a few unexpected flipped seats, codified laws, and historic victories. A key Democratic win happened in Pennsylvania when democrat John Fetterman flipped the Republican Senate seat in his victory against opponent Mehmet Oz. These campaigns have been one of the most watched Senate races in the country, and this race was one of the most contentious. Abortion rights and laws were a significant issue that were voted on in the midterm elections as a whole. Fetterman was a firm pro-choice supporter, and it is presumed that this was a key element in the Democrat’s win. Another major seat flip happened in The House when Sean Maloney conceded to Mike Lawler. Maloney was the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; a committee that selects candidates to run for democratic positions in The House and Senate, runs and organizes campaigns, and supports democratic candidates. The victory was such a remarkable feat as it was the first time a campaign chairman has lost a re-election in either party since 1980. During midterm elections, ballot measures are also voted on. Ballot measures can be new laws, state constitutional amendments, propositions, or questions that are voted on either state or local level. They are used to gather public opinion and set proposed legislation in place. Idaho had two ballot measures: an advisory question about a 5.8 percent tax rate for income and corporate taxes and allocating more money to education funds, and state amendment 102 which would allow the state legislature to assemble a special session, not just the governor. The advisory poll, which does not have an immediate effect on any laws or amendments but rather gauges public opinion, resulted in 79.8 percent in favor of the new tax system. Amendment SJR 102 passed with 51.8 percent. There have been several historic victories to come out of this year’s midterm elections. Many women have broken barriers and have become the first female officials elected in their state; these include Maura Healey, the first openly lesbian governor of Massachusetts; governor Sarah Sanders of Arkanas; and Summer Lee, the first Black woman elected to Congress in Pennslyvania. Democrat Maxwell Frost will be the youngest member of Congress once he is sworn in next January. At only 25 years old, he is the first Gen Z individual to secure a seat in The House, and he represents the start of a new generation entering the United States government. After a nail-bitingly close race, Democrats are projected to keep control of the Senate after Nevada called their election on Wednesday night. With this addition, Democrats will keep their slim majority with or without a Democratic win in Georgia, which could still go either way. This is due to the fact that Vice-President Kamala Harris can cast a tie-breaking vote to keep Democrats in control. Ana Grover
Copy Editor Hearing loss is usually correlated with old age, but it is common among teens too. In fact, there are several students at Bonneville High School who are hard of hearing (HoH). According to The Center for Audiology in Texas, one in five teenagers exhibit at least some hearing loss, although the majority of that is damage from loud noises. One misconception about HoH or deaf individuals is that all hearing loss is the same, which is far from the truth. Hearing loss is scientifically measured in five stages: mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe, and profound. When an individual is deaf, they can not understand speech even with amplification, and profound or total deafness refers to a complete lack of hearing. Samuel Memmott, and Rebekah Grover are HoH seniors at Bonneville High School. They are both the only person in their family with hearing loss, and neither of them know what caused their impairment. Memmott was diagnosed at the end of fourth grade, but his hearing had been degrading for around a year before his official diagnosis. His hearing loss is moderate to severe, and is still declining over time. He wears hearing aids in both ears and would have to give a microphone to his teachers that automatically connects with his hearing aids, but has since learned to lip read and infer from context clues well enough that the microphone is no longer necessary. When asked what most people do not realize about hearing loss, he said, “It's not only frustrating for people when I have to say ‘what' 20 times, it's also super frustrating for me wishing I could just hear better, it makes you feel fairly inadequate.” Despite the downsides, Memmott points out a silver lining: his hearing aids have bluetooth to connect directly to his phone’s audio. Both Memmott and Grover have a 504 plan for their hearing loss, which means that teachers are required to provide accommodations such as captions on videos, printed notes, and a desk at the front of the classroom. Grover was diagnosed with moderate hearing loss just before sixth grade and has been wearing hearing aids in both ears ever since. In an interview, she said, “I can still hear sounds without my hearing aids, but sounds are very muffled and speech loses its clarity.” Because of her hearing loss, social situations can be difficult sometimes. “Those who are deaf or HoH may interrupt without realizing someone was talking simply because they could not hear,” Grover stated. Just because someone has hearing loss does not mean that they can not participate in everyday school activities and social conversations. Grover stated, “When hearing people say ‘nevermind’ or ‘it's not important’ after being asked to repeat themselves, it is exclusive.” While accommodations sometimes have to be made for HoH or deaf individuals, they should not be treated any differently than a hearing person. Heather Byrne
Staff Writer “Grr…” Many students in traditional United States school systems hear rumbling coming from their stomachs in the middle of class. Since the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced, U.S. government officials have decided that the need for free school lunch has expired. Free school lunch was available during the pandemic because many people were not being paid and had to stay at home. The government temporarily made school lunch free to help families who were already living in harsh conditions. Officials hoped that subtracting the cost of school lunch would help low income families. According to California’s Department of Education, California is the only state in the US in which students are still given free lunch; however, they are only provided in the schools with high poverty rates. California governor Gavin Newsom recently signed a mandate pushing schools to apply for federal provision. This allows schools’ incomes to be evaluated and government officials can determine whether they qualify for free lunch or not. It is believed among many politicians that free school lunches are no longer needed because of the ending of the pandemic. According to some, most workers are able to be paid for working again and income is less of a concern. Many students would argue that school lunches are still a problem even though the pandemic is nearly over. Some parents have naturally low wages and the pandemic did not affect them in any way. These parents could have a hard time financing school lunches into their budget because they are used to it being provided. Before the virus, school lunch was not free. Free school meals were only to help families who needed financial support during covid, not all families low income. A survey was taken among students at BHS. According to the survey, most of the students going to Bonneville ate school lunch last year but do not this year because many can not afford to pay for the lunches. Although less than half of the students at BHS are affected, those who are must face harsh results from the loss of universal school lunch. According to a Bonneville student, their transition to buying lunch has not been easy, “In four days, I will not have any of the money that I saved for school lunch this summer left. It was supposed to last me for a lot longer than that. I will not be able to afford to eat.” This student is one of many at BHS who is suffering from this change. Many students are in distress and the government does not have unlimited funds to pay for students’ lunches. This is likely to be a long lasting conflict but hopefully the result will be full and content bellies. Gianmarco Quinzi
Staff Writer Eleven years ago, it was Massachusetts that made the first move against the law banning gay marriage. When a transgender or gay person presents their identity to society and decides to pursue their aspirations, they are often denied and forced to conform to society’s standards and beliefs. “Despite five decades of progress, equality is not within reach, and often not even within sight, for all persons impacted by violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States,” said Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Every day there is news about people being beaten or harassed because said individuals are gay or transgender. In today's society, it matters much more who people decide to love than who they can become or what they can offer. In this reality, never being enough is becoming almost normal. The transgender community faces scrutiny regarding their gender expression, sexual orientation,. These individuals face a world that is battling against them while they are simply living their truth. Transgender is a commonly-used term for people who do not identify with their birth sex, so their gender identity or expression is different. Gender identity refers to one's own inner understanding instead the expression of gender that is shown externally. “Gender identity and sexual orientation are different aspects of identity. Everyone has a gender identity and sexual orientation, but a person's gender does not determine a person's sexual orientation. Transgender people can identify as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or none of the above,” according to the CDC. Not all states are accepting this change; for example, Florida and Texas are still in retrograde. According to Governor Greg Abbott, “In late February, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declared that gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth should be classified as child abuse.” Abbott then directed the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate families that are supporting and seeking care for their trans children, turning a state agency that is supposed to protect children into a body actively promoting their harm. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill into law. The bill bars teachers from creating a safe and welcoming classroom environment for gay or transgender students. It prevents teachers from talking about LGBTQ+ issues, history, or people. Under this law, parents are allowed to directly sue a school district if they believe that a teacher has violated this law. A multitude of companies have fired back in support of the students. Ben and Jerry’s stated,“Florida students have led walkouts in opposition to the legislation, and more than 150 companies (including us) have come out against it.” It is easy to identify as an ally, but the label alone is not enough. Oppression does not take breaks. To be an effective ally, people need to be willing to stay consistent in their support of LGBTQ+ rights and defend LGBTQ+ people against discrimination. |
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