May 2017

School News: While IB and AP students studied for their exams held in May, other students enjoyed their last month in school. In sports news, girls’ track won their fifth consecutive DVL title, while boys’ track took second in DVL. Boys’ tennis made it into the first round of CIF. In the first week of May, the theater program put on a production of “Numbers Nerds,” a musical about a group of female students competing in a math competition. Upperclassmen celebrated the end of the school year by attending prom. The theme was “Moonlight Serenade.”

Local News: On May 6, the east side of the valley held its first LGBTQ Pride Festival. The organizers of the festival hoped to bring education and permanent resources to this region of the valley, where many of the LGBTQ members come from a conservative Hispanic culture that rejects discussing sex and sexuality. In a 3-2 vote, city council members of Cathedral City approved a motion to allow the city to become the first sanctuary city in the Coachella Valley. This vote prohibited the use of the city’s resources to enforce federal immigration policy. Mayor Stan Henry, however, thinking that the measure would divide the city, voted against it. He later asked for a clarifying sentence to be added to the measure, which would state that the city would still work with the federal government on major criminal cases.

National News: This year’s May Day, celebrated on May 1 as a recognition of labor and the working class, saw rallies held in several U.S. cities. Workers who participated in these rallies protested President Donald Trump’s tough immigration policy, which leaves many of these low-wage workers vulnerable to deportation. A report published in JAMA Internal Medicine claimed that there are large and growing differences in life expectancies across counties in the United States. The study blames a combination of socioeconomic and racial or ethnic factors, as well as healthcare and behavioral and metabolic risk factors.

International News: In Venezuela, protests against President Nicolás Maduro continued. On May 1, Maduro said he would form an assembly to rewrite the Constitution in order to restore order and prevent a coup. Meanwhile, the situation in the country is dire; the inflation rate is over 400 percent and there are mass shortages of medical supplies and food. European leaders attempted to persuade President Trump to keep the U.S. in the Paris Climate Accord; however, the president claimed that his top priority was economic growth and national security. The president later announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord.