The School Newspaper of Southwest Career and Technical Academy.

Southwest Shadow

Southwest Shadow

Southwest Shadow
Gazing down at a phone, sophomores Achilles Andre Caranto and Amelia Castellanos are two of the many teens in America gazing down at their phones right this minute. According to statistics from GuardChild, 85% of teenagers have social media, and 90% of children ages 8-16 have witnessed explicit content online. “When there is such a powerful force in our society, like social media right now, the government should be stepping in trying to control it and protect vulnerable groups, or vulnerable people like children,” Social Studies teacher Joseph Juliano said.

‘Kids Online Safety Act’ revisions to place restrictive setting on social media for minors

Ava Torres, Staff Writer
February 26, 2024
Recent proposed KOSA bill raises human rights concerns.
As seniors enter adulthood, the opportunity to vote and to be involved in a democracy becomes available to them. Young voters in the United States (U.S.) are encouraged to act upon their civil responsibility to vote and prepare before November by registering to vote. “There isn’t much I can do at 18 to make a difference,” senior Aleena Khalid said. “However voting as well as volunteering is an option, so I intend on exercising that privilege in the 2024 election.”

Eligible Seniors Prepare to Vote

Ava Julian, Staff Writer
February 20, 2024
Eligible seniors are encouraged to take action and vote in local and state elections.
With the growing availability of the internet, exposure to social media to younger generations is at an all-time high. Younger generations have begun to mature at a quicker rate. “With a phone, you have a lot more freedom on the internet,” Junior Eloisa Valeo said. “When we’re younger, we’re more easily influenced and susceptible to inappropriate or dangerous things online. Exposure to these things when they’re younger can really harm how children grow up.”

Generation Alpha Chasing Maturity

Kailie Sicolo, Staff Writer
February 13, 2024
In the digital age, children are easily exposed to trends catered for adults.
Performing at an open mic, senior Alina Adams sings an original song. “I asked the owner when and where it was, and I went down there and I sang three songs,” Alina Adams said. “They asked me to come back and host the next one. I've been hoping to go back and work on more stuff and like bring new songs to help myself get over stage fright.”

Aspiring Music Artist: Meet Alina Adams

Daphney Garcia Hatton and Paizley Swaney
February 7, 2024
Adams’ music career is on the rise.
Having a constant sleep schedule is a struggle for many students who have to spend hours on homework every night. Caffeine is often used by teens who feel the need to stay up past their natural sleep time. “My sleep schedule is kind of sporadic,” senior Josh Burgos said. “There are days where I get eight hours of sleep and there are others where I have to stay up until 3 a.m. just to finish all my homework.”

Sleepless Students: The fight for eight hours

Philipos Alebachew, Staff Writer
February 5, 2024
There are many detrimental, long-term effects, of sleep deprivation that most teens don’t realize.
Lots of students have major tunnel vision about life after high school, but there are a lot of options other than college or the workforce. While many seniors have set plans after high school, others who are undecided look to college to help them figure things out. “College is the next step,” senior Alyssa Hong said. “For me, I feel like I need to go to college because there's going to be more opportunities for me in college, although not everyone has to go to college to succeed.”

Maybe College Isn’t the Next Step

Achilles Caranto, Staff Writer
February 2, 2024
Plans for after graduation are very college-centered, despite worthwhile alternatives.
The New Year's tradition of making resolutions has prompted people to make unrealistic goals that rarely get accomplished.

New Year, Same Me

Ava Julian, Staff Writer
January 30, 2024
New Year's resolutions fail society year after year.
Holding up the neck of the bottle, junior Monica Sarkisian watches as her partner cuts the base of their project. Students cut two liter bottles with scissors, learning about planting as well as reusable sustainability. “[Mrs. Horner] drew it on the board and then we just cut it and kind of replicated it and everyone did their own thing at the end, which I thought was kind of interesting to see,” Sarkisian said. “I feel like cutting the bottle was kind of hard because it was really sturdy.

An Hour In … Environmental Science

Violet Moreno and Ava Torres
January 23, 2024
A hands-on project teaching simple & sustainable watering practices.
Rushing to the mannequin, sophomore Bryan Pratt beats his opponent to spot the muscle. Pratt placed his hand on the rectus abdominis muscle in the stomach. “I’m not good at remembering stuff off the top of my head,” Pratt said. “But with this, especially when someone wants to become a nurse, they have to know how to work hands-on. If we know how to do this to a patient, we’ll be good.”

An Hour In … Principles of Health Science

Zelina Panissidi and Venice Jingco
January 16, 2024
Nursing students display their skills and prepare for a test.
After everyone is finished scooping, sophomore Don Balmaceda starts cleaning up their area and materials. Cleaning the area makes sure that everything is well placed and sanitized. “I like doing dishes because here I have classmates to help me out,” Balmaceda said. “I don’t have that at home so everything feels organized here.”

AN HOUR IN…FOODS I

Joy Ryan and Amelia Castellanos
January 8, 2024
Making use of the kitchen, students scoop cookie dough for SkillsUSA fundraiser.
Standing beside their prized plushies, sophomore Marcrow Farinas has grown their collection bit by bit. “I got my plushies online,” sophomore Marcrow Farinas said. “Sometimes from my parents or birthdays too. My favorite is the Springbonnie plush. I bring it everywhere with me and I clean it at least once a day.”

FNAF Fanatic: Meet Marcrow Farinas

Venice Jingco, Staff writer
January 8, 2024
Sophomore Marcrow Farinas expresses their obsession of eight years; FNAF.
Looking over the rubric, junior Nic Burgess plans out his contribution to the project. His paragraph accompanied his partner’s tribal tattoo drawing. “The paragraph essentially describes what our tattoo or kapa is about,” Burgess said. “I’m not super artistic so I opted to do the research part of the project. Our design is about Pearl Harbor and how it affected Native Hawaiian people at the time.”

An Hour In … US History H

Philipos Alebachew and Kailie Sicolo
January 5, 2024
To show their understanding of the history of Hawaii as a state, US History students sketch visual representations of Hawaiian culture and history.
« Previous Page — Next Page »