Investigative Journalism

"'This is far from over.' says the chairman of the standing Rock Sioux Tribe"
By: Lizbeth Urquizo

They all look at each other, nervously. They are waiting for the news that will decide what will happen to them and their people.

On the fifth of December, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe was informed that “the Army Corps of Engineers will not grant the permit for the Dakota Access pipeline to drill under the Missouri river”. This was “a major victory to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe after a months-long campaign against the pipeline.” This victory was important to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the other tribes that went to North Dakota.

Although the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe did get what they wanted, the only question that is left now is, for how long will this victory last? The spokesman of Donald Trump made a statement saying “[The pipeline] is something we support construction of, and we will review the situation when we are in the White House to make the appropriate determination at that time," Donald Trump will be going to office on January 20 of 2017. There is a chance that when he goes to office, he can find a way to give the permit to the oil company that the Obama administration denied.

On the official Dakota Access Pipeline Project website it says, “The pipeline will enable domestically produced light sweet crude oil from North Dakota to reach major refining markets in a more direct, cost-effective, safer and environmentally responsible manner.” The thing is that the company can’t fully guarantee that oil won’t spill in the Mississippi River, in fact no one can. If the oil were to ever spill, that oil would goin to the Mississippi River. Since the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe uses natural resources, if that water were to be contaminated by oil, they wouldn’t be able to drink from it, as well as the other places where the Mississippi river goes to would be affected as well.

Many people have their reasons on why they support the Dakota Access Pipeline project. According to New York Times, “The Dakota Access pipeline is a $3.7 billion project that would carry 470,000 barrels of oil a day from the oil fields of western North Dakota to Illinois, where it would be linked with other pipelines. Energy Transfer says the pipeline will pump millions of dollars into local economies and create 8,000 to 12,000 construction jobs though far fewer permanent jobs to maintain and monitor the pipeline.” Energy Transfer says the truth that most people tend to forget. The pipeline will create jobs but, that number will decrease once the pipeline is fully built because most workers won’t be needed. Fewer people will be able to keep their job so they can check up on the pipeline.

According to New York Times, people from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe don't want the pipeline. "They say its route traverses ancestral lands which are not part of the reservation where their forebears hunted, fished and were buried." Historical and cultural reviews of the land where the pipeline will be buried were inadequate. Also, they worry about the environmental damage if the pipeline were to break where it goes under the Missouri River.”

The chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe said, “...it is imperative that we push through as much as we can under the current administration. We cannot afford to lose momentum and continue to be on edge due to the Dakota Access presence at the drill pad. We also urge you to contact the banks investing in this risky and unsafe project to make them aware of the terrible acts this company has committed and reconsider their financing.”

All that is left now to wait more, but what will happen? As the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe said, “This is far from over.”

Exploring Non-Fiction

World War II Hitler and the Nazis

By: William W. Lace

     The book was about Hitler's life. It went from him growing up with a distant father, to him having a hard time when it came to paying for necessary day-to-day items. It talks about how he started off as before he became the leader of the Nazis. The book goes in depth when it talks about the things that happened along the way of him ruling. It also talks about what happened to him when he died and what he did days before he committed suicide. 

     In the book, it says, " First the Nazis went after the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did not object. Then they went after the Catholics, but I was not a Catholic, so I did not object. Then they went after the trade-unionists, but I was not a trade-unionist, so I did not object. Then they came after me, and there was no one left to object." This quote was interesting to me because it showed how some people saw this period of time. It showed how the Nazis went from one group of people to the next slowly, but yet noticeably. When they went to the people that that least expected, there was no one else for them to pick on. This quote gives a quick summary of the groups of people that the Nazis went against.

     Somethings that I learned in the book, I will not forget. For example, in the book I learned that when he was growing up, he wanted to become an artist. His father wanted Hitler to become a federal governor. When it came to school, he was good at "drawing and gymnastics but failed or barely passed everything else." I also learned that while Hitler was in prison for five years, he wrote a book. The book was titled Mein Kampf (My Struggle). Although about 10 million copies were sold, many people didn't really read it since " it was written in a dull, ponderous style and endlessly repeated the key themes of race, German destiny, survival of the fittest, and need for a militaristic dictatorship." 

I commented on Nataly's Blog

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Gratitude Blog

     What am I grateful for? Well there are a lot of things that I am grateful, like my sister. I know it is probably something you don't hear as often. My sister is someone I am grateful for, and for a lot of things. She is my sisters but, also my best friend. She's seen me at my worst moments, and she's seen seen and sometimes has been in my most embarrassing moments. We always make fun of our baby pictures when we were kids. We mostly laugh at the pictures when our mom use to dress us up alike. Although we sometimes get on each others nerves, we end up laughing about it in the end. She has always been there when I need a shoulder to cry on, or when I need advice on something.
     I am also grateful for my second grade teacher. She would always find a way to make everyone smile. I will never forget the time she got up on one of the tables and started to dance. She was always energetic when it came to finding a new way to teach us.  The year I had her as my teacher was her last year of teaching, she was going to retire. She was the teacher that made the most impact in me. She made me realize that school was more than haveing homework and reading books, school was about having a good time with friends, having memories and creating new ones along the way. We spend most of our lives in school, so why not make the best of it while it lasts?

Article of the Week Impressions

     This week, I learned a lot about different topics that are happening right now. For instance, I learned that millions of bees are dying. They are dying because there was a spray to help stop the zika virus but, bees were affected by the spray too. This is bad because bees help to pollinate flowers, so if the spary is killing the bees, there might be a chance that it will affect the number of flowers that blossom every year. Especially if  the spray is still being spread around to this day.

     I also learned that any form of flexible chair can help students in school. The chairs help them when learning since they are concentrating more. There was a study made to see how it helped kids that had  disabilities. This is good because if more schools use this method when teaching students, the students will be able to concentrate when learning in school.

The Election Reflection

     The election for the next president was this Tuesday, November eighth. As everyone in the United States and probably other countries know, Donald Trump won. Most people didn't expect this result, myself included. The end result was Mrs. Clinton with 228 electoral college points, and Mr. Trump with 290 electoral college points. Many newscasts said that Mrs. Clinton would for sure be the next president.

     The election had a bigger meaning behind it than seeing who was going to be the 45th president of the United States. This election showed us how now many people in the U.S have different opinions on what they want the future of our country to look like. Overall, at the end someone was going to have to win, even if most people refused to accept it.

     When the next election takes place, which is in the next four years, I will not be able to vote. I will have to wait eight years to be able to vote for the next president. Although it sounds like a long time to wait, it will hopefully pass by quickly.

"Still Here"

You may not see me
you may not know me
But I am still here

Family and friends gather around me
They look down and remember me

I’m still here
although its seems like I am not

Investigative Journalism: The Lost Money

"The Lost Money"

     One morning at Heritage Middle School, the eighth grade students were informed by their teachers that someone has stolen the money that was going to go to their field trip at Springfield. Since the cost of this field trip was $80 per student, a lot of money was collected.

     It was catastrophic. Immediately students called their parents informing them of what they were just told. Students were accusing each other for being the culprit.

     At the end of the day, students were informed that it was all a part of our ELA lesson of journalism. The eighth grade students learned that they shouldn't go into conclusions without knowing the full story.

1 Quarter Reflection

Now that the first quarter has come to an end, I have noticed the progress I have gone throughout this quarter. For example, now I have learned a new technique to use when writing an essay. The TIQA technique has helped me in ELA and in other classes when it comes to writing an essay in different topics. Before I learned about this, I wasn't so great when it came to writing essays. Something else that has also helped me is the "Investigation Jounalism". When doing this, it helps me get better at not putting in some of my opinions when writing something. I use to accidentally add in my opinions that I have, but now with this unit, I have gotten use to when it is okay to have bias and when it's not meant to be bias.

I also learned a lot about the world. I have learned how we should appreciate our freedom to choose. I learned this from the book The Giver because in this book, the people in the community had no say in what they could do. In the United States we do have that freedom, but I guess that sometimes we just forget that we are lucky enough to have this right that we don't appreciate it as much as other people that wish they had this right.

Some goals that I have for the next three other quarters in ELA are to learn more on how to write a newscast report and to finish my 10 book challenge. I want to learn more on how to write a newscast report because since I don't know what I want to be when I grow up yet and I chose a career that has to do with writing a report, I would know how to do it. It's a skill that I think will one day come in handy, so knowing how to do it properly is important. I want to finish my 10 book challenge because I normally just read about 5 books every year. So for me to be able to double that amount will just be an accomplishment. I also want to take advantage of this challenge and read other genres that I haven't read before.

The Giver: Film vs. Book

      There were many similarities and differences when it came to the events between the film and the book. One major event that happened in the film and the book was how the Giver, Jonas, and Gabe are the only ones that will be able to see the memories. In the book, when Jonas is about the leave, the Giver and Jonas think about who Jonas can take to Elsewhere when he says “There’s a little female with pale eyes. But she’s only a Six.”(156) This quote shows how Jonas and The Giver were trying to remember of any of the people in the community that have pale eyes. That means that if someone has place eyes, that person can be the next Receiver of Memory. In the movie the Giver, Jonas, and Gabe all have a symbol if they are going to be the next Receiver, like in the book. The difference is that instead of having pale eyes, they all three have a big birthmark on the wrist on their hand. This difference changes a lot of things because Jonas in the book also learns about color this way. The pale eyes also showed us that rule that pointing out the differences someone has within the community was seen as rude and not polite. In the movie, having the birthmark didn't really have a big part except with seeing color or anything major like that except for the fact that it might be more obvious if people see that the Receiver of Memory and the in training Receiver of Memory have the exact same birthmark on the exact same place.
      The ending of The Giver between the film and the book had some major differences with some minor details, but it also had some similarities. In the book, we see how the memories the Giver has given him help him along the way because “ Then it flickered suddenly, and he felt tiny tongues of heat begin to creep across and into his frozen feet and legs. He felt his face begin to glow and the tense, cold skin oh his arms and hands relax. For a fleeting second he felt the he wanted to keep it to himself, to let himself bathe in sunlight, unburdened by anything or anyone else,”(177) This quote shows how the memories helped him get through the coldness in the ending. Also, throughout the whole ending, the book always stayed on Jonas's point of view, it never changed. In the film, we saw the point of view change. We saw what had happened to the community when all the memories were being released to all of the people there. This did help us out when watching the film because we were able to see how the memories affected them. If the change of point of view didn't change,most people that didn't read the book wouldn't see how there was a chance that the community might change to how it use to be, with the memories.
      Although there were many differences between the film and book, I was able to get a better understanding with the film. In the film, I was able to visually see how the story was unfolding. I saw all of the different point of views which helped me see what the other characters were doing/thinking while Jonas was in his training and learning about memories. I also saw how the friendships that Jonas had with the other characters affected him later in the film. In the book, I didn't really see what happened to everyone else which might have been a way for the readers o find out more rules and get to know the community a little better. In the book I had a hard time on understanding on how the journey went when Jonas was leaving the community. In the film, even though it was different, I was able to visually see how the journey went and I saw what happened back in community which was a big part since we saw how the community reacted to receiving the memories.

The Giver: Dynamic Character & Theme

     The theme of “The Giver” is that the memories are important to learn from, to teach others, and to get wisdom from. In the book, the Giver was telling Jonas how it felt having all of these memories and he told Jonas,“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.”(154). This quote shows how being the only person that can see theses memories gives him the feeling of loneliness because he can’t talk about them or shares them to other people in the community except to the new Receiver of Memory, which is basically one person. He also says that memories should be shared. This is true because if everyone has these memories they will learn and see how good it is to have that freedom to make choices, make mistakes, and see how having differences and not sameness is good too.   The Giver shows many examples of how memories are important to learn from, to teach others, and to get wisdom from, throughout the book. In the book, the Giver tells Jonas memories are important because, “It’s just that...without the memories it’s all meaningless.”(105). This quote shows that if these memories didn’t exist, it would just be all meaningless and there wouldn’t be anything for people to feel actual emotions. This also shows that memories are a huge deal when it comes to wisdom because if there aren’t any memories, the Elders of the community wouldn’t know what to do when a problem comes up.

     Throughout the book, Jonas changes. That makes him a dynamic character. In the beginning if the book, Jonas describes himself in one word, he says, “Apprehensive, Jonas decided. That’s what I am.(4). Apprehensive means that someone is fearful, they are always scared of what might happen in the future.  This is how Jonas was throughout the beginning of the book, but he changed further along the book.    Jonas has changed drastically from how he has felt on the beginning of the book to the end of the book. At the end of the book, Jonas is about to leave the community when “He felt, surprisingly, no fear, nor any regret at leaving the community behind.”(163). This quote shows how he now isn't apprehensive anymore since he doesn't fear in unknown that he will be facing because he is leaving the community now. He also isn't scared about the fact that he is leaving the community which is something that the Jonas from the beginning of the book might not even think about leaving the community, which is what he is now doing.

The Giver

While reading The Giver by Lois Lowry, there has been several memories shared by the main character, Jonas. One such memory is the Airplane memory. In chapter 1, Jonas saw an air plane which is something that rarely happens, in the book Johas was,"..looking around anxiously, had seen others -adults as well as children- stop what they were doing and wait, confused, for an explanation of the frightening event...He had been frightened then. The sense of his own community silent, waiting, had made his stomach churn. He had trembled."(p.g2) This memory might be important because it shows that Jonas and other people in the community have never seen any thing that fly like air planes. The speaker, which is when someone does announcements throughout the speakers in the community, says that the person who was responsible will be released. Being realesed is bad because it means that you did something bad so you can't live in that community anymore. This connects to the conflict because this memory shows me that the people in that community might have never been exposed to the things we see in our daily lives.

While reading The Giver by Lois Lowry, there has Ben several again and again moments with the main character, Jonas.One such again and again moment is the colored eyes. In chapter 3, Jonas sees that Gabe and himself have the different colored eyes. He thinks to himself,"Almost every citizen in the community had dark eyes. His parents did, and Lily did, and so did all of his group members and friends. But there were a few exceptions: Jonas himself, and a female Five who had noticed had the different, lighter eyes. No one mentioned such things; it was not a rule, but was considered rude to call attention to things that were unsettling or different about individuals."(p.g20) This might keep showing up again and again because it shows that having different colored eyes is so unusual since everyone else has dark eyes. Although it is considered rude to point out the differences between other people. This might be connected to the conflict because this shows that having colored eyes shows how they are different than everyone else in the community.

Welcome To My Blog

    Hi my name is Lizbeth! I'm in 8th grade. I love to read Sci-Fi books. My music taste is all over the place, so I don't have one favorite. I love to do DIY's in my free time. I also love to get quotes and make a background for them.  

    In the future I hope that I'm happy with the career I choose. Right now I'm thinking of being in aero engendering. This is when someone focuses on making things with areocraft. For example plans or rockets. I personally want to work for NASA or XSpace.

Thank You For Visiting My Blog