A Diamond Celebration
Disneyland celebrated Mickey Mouse’s 87th birthday on November 18, 2015. Mickey Mouse, the most globally famous character in the Disney franchise, special birthday was commemorated with a huge parade and festivities.
Mickey Mouse debuted on November 18, 1928, in a film called “Steamboat Willie”. He has also been the star in other Disney productions such as “Plane Crazy” and “The Karnival Kid.” Upon his debut, Mickey Mouse instantly became an attraction to people and eventually was globally recognized and acknowledged as the face of Disneyland. Today, Mickey Mouse’s popularity is shown through the varied Mickey merchandise, such as ears or dolls, which have been continuously sold throughout the amusement park. One of the most iconic commemorations of Mickey Mouse occurred in 1993, when the Partners Statue, a sculpture of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse holding hands, was built and put in Disneyland. Soon later, a second Partners Statue was built at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in 1995.
The famous Mouse would not have been such a success without tracing its origins with Disney. On October 16, 1923, Walt Disney began a company called The Disney Brothers Studio. As Disney began successfully releasing comic strips and films such as “Steamboat Willie” and “The Band Concert”, the company experienced a move from Los Angeles to Burbank, California on December 26, 1939. Walt Disney and his company became immensely popular, and eventually, Disneyland, the first Disney park, opened in Anaheim, California on July 17, 1955. About two decades later, Walt Disney World Resort was open to the public in Orlando, Florida on October 1, 1971. Today, about 17 million people visit Disneyland and 52 million people visit Walt Disney World Resort each year.
One of the most prominent issues regarding Disney has been its recently hiked ticket prices. Annual pass prices have gone up in addition to two new top-level passes, the Disney Signature Plus and Disney Signature. Disney Signature Plus passes currently are offered at $1,049 and Disney Signature passes $849. Also, one-day tickets have been raised to $100. Disneyland raised its prices by as much as $60 on October 4, 2015 and has eliminated Premium Annual Passport passes, which were previously $779, justifying its elimination with most expensive passes that offer more benefits.
While Disney is the hallmark of childhood dreams and simultaneously one of biggest corporations in the world, its nostalgic echo continues to resonate amongst millions of people worldwide.
Written By: Helen Huh (Troy High School)
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World AIDS Day
HIV. Since its identification in 1984, it has infected and killed over 35 million people, and currently, over 34 million have the virus. The virus often causes AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. HIV and AIDS are often coupled and referenced together as HIV/AIDS, due to their cause-and-effect relationship. Although HIV/AIDS is one of the most destructive pandemics in history, many people are uneducated on it and often discriminate against HIV-positive people due to the stigma that surrounds the disease.
In response to this lack of awareness and stigma of HIV/AIDS, the National AIDS Trust–a leading charity against the fight of HIV/AIDS–has created World AIDS Day, an annual event on December 1 that encourages people worldwide to raise awareness of the fight against HIV/AIDs, stand in solidarity with people who currently have HIV, and remember those who have died of HIV/AIDs.
Participants can show their support on World AIDS Day by wearing red ribbons, the universal symbol for awareness and support of HIV/AIDS, or by fundraising money to donate to charities and organizations like the National AIDS Trust, World Health Organization (WHO), and the International AIDS Society.
Although HIV/AIDS is the leading infectious killer today, there is hope. Through programs and events like World AIDS Day raising awareness across the globe, there has been a significant increase in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS. According to the World Health Organization, there were 12.9 million people living with HIV/AIDS who received antiretroviral treatment in 2013–a 5.6 million increase from 2010.
Although HIV/AIDs is currently incurable, continuous global efforts like the World AIDS Day have the power to drastically decrease the number of people suffering from the pandemic, increase the number of people who are receiving better treatment, and, someday, eradicate HIV/AIDS for good.
Written By: James Noh, Northwood High School
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Socal Winter Fashion Guide
The chilliest and coldest season is when the clothing trends settle and fashion kicks in. According to a survey done at a local teenage community, winter is when people buy the most clothing items and become more interested in clothes. Southern California really only has two seasons, one of which is not what most people would consider winter. Winters here means that the weather is not as hot as summer. And when winter is over and summer arrives, we miss winter a lot, because during winter we can actually wear something other than short and t-shirts, even if the rest of the country gives us a lot of figurative side-eye for complaining about it. The teens will showcase their style as well as keep themselves warm. But this causes a huge controversy between the opinions of the boys and girls on winter fashion.
According to a survey done at a local teenage community, there have been many different opinions on various fashion trends. For example, the girls love to showcase their comfortable style by pairing black leggings with a pair of UGG boots. It helps them keep their feet warm and comfortable while looking cute and put together. However, guys do not appreciate the furry, sheep-skinned boots because they look unattractive and seem unnecessary in the “not-so-cold” California weather. There have been other controversies with Sperry’s and leggings, where some of the students loved the trend, and the other half didn’t enjoy it. However, there were mutual interests in several clothing items for this winter season.
There were several fashion picks that were adored by both the men and women for this chilly season. The cardigans and sweaters were picked as most likely to wear by both genders. There is a new popular phrase, “sweater weather” that shows the season is described by a clothing item. According to the survey, both genders have said the sweater and cardigans keep them warm, yet allow a put-together look. Most agree that the sweaters were flattering and attractive in the eyes. Floral dress paired with Leggings with high socks plus leather boots is also a perfect combo for the winter season here, fashionable also comfortable for a teenage girl.
As for accessories, infinity scarf is also a must-have. It keeps the necks warm, also adds a little more color to the whole outfit selection. It is also easy to carry around. Paired with sunglasses that’s needed in Southern California all day long, infinity scarves is a perfect choice for teenage girls, even boys.
Winter is also a great time to show off how wide ranged your wardrobe is. However, anything you like to wear is your own fashion, and various kinds of fashion make up this diverse world.
Written By: Jennifer Zhao (Northwood High School) and Hailey Han (Beckman High School)
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Endless Horror
Most of Koreans, including my family and myself, are so used to the North Korea’s “threat”. This threat is like an annual custom, happening every year, when the dictator of North Korea wants money or political influence on South. Not many people thought these threats seriously and we were ignorant of it. We were immune to this occasional “happening”.
I realized, however, the other nations had different perspective from ours. In 2013, when I first arrived to America, North Korea again made a “threat”. For me and my family, it wasn’t a big deal; we didn’t even mention while we were skyping every day. On the other hand, my host parents, teachers, and friends in America were worried about my family; they will carefully ask if my parent’s were okay, will pray for my parents and friends in Korea, and were worried that there will be a war soon. For them, it was the first time to feel the upcoming war between two Koreas. These same people will tell me that I was lucky to be in America, where I was safe. Now the situation changed.
Recently, the whole world is in horror caused by Isis. Its terrorism, started from Iraq and Syria, had spread throughout the world, including France and Russia, and it is even influencing America through, such as, San Bernardino shooting.
But here is an important fact that we have to know: Isis was organized and activated in 1999. Isis’ terrorism was prevalent in Syria and Iraq for decades. People were ignorant for numerous years when people in Iraq and Syria were suffering; they started to acknowledge this crisis as the terrorists attacked France. Why was the world ignorant for so long?
The world was ignorant an indifferent toward Isis; countries were defining the Isis terror inside the boundary of Syria and Iraq. As this boundary broke, the crisis is now the problem of the whole world and everyone is involved. It would have been certainly easier to handle the terrorism if everyone lifted the veil of ignorance and gathered to fix the problem from the beginning.
Written By: Sooyoung Park (JSerra Catholic High School)
