The reason why they are protesting is because a large group of Oakland residents believe that their needs have not been met. They believe that 99% of the world is poor and 1% are celebrities with all the money.

They say that the media, citizens, and others have been favoring the needs of the 99% without listening or responding to the needs of the 1% regular people who are in the lower and middle classes.

The protesting began on October 10. On that day their group was formed and they started to sleep outside. They want the people of Oakland and everywhere else to recognize that they are not going to stop until their requests have been met. (The protesting actually started with the “Occupy Wall Street” movement and then it spread around the country and to other parts of the world!).

The Mayor of Oakland, Jean Quan is very worried. She and her supporters are trying very hard to make sure that the City of Oakland is safe and that this protesting is under control. On October 25, the protests got worse. So much and so severe that police came and brought tear gas to evacuate the protesters from Downtown Oakland.

You can see proof of “Occupy Oakland” right across the street from the school. If you walk down on Piedmont Ave. at Gaylords coffee shop, there is a sign with big lettering that says “OCCUPY OAKLAND. DO WHAT’S BEST.” (The school choir also had to cancel a field trip last week because of the protests going on in Downtown Oakland).

Hopefully soon, the protesting will stop and everyone will find a way to solve the major issues. To read more about all of this, please go to: www.occupyoakland.org

by: Hiwot Dereje, 7th grade
Senior Editor
THE LION LEDGER

MCT is a joint venture of McClatchy and the Tribune Co.

You may remember your parents telling you about the big earthquake on October 17, 1989. That earthquake measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and took place on the San Andreas Fault. Scientists say we are going to have another earthquake similar to that or maybe even worse.

If you watch the news you will remember two very large earthquakes around the world recently. First the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, then the one in Japan at the beginning of this year. This isn’t the reason why scientist think that a large earthquake will be heading our way. (And it’s not because of 2012 either).

There is no way for scientists to predict when an earthquake will happen. What they can do, is look at all of the earthquakes that have occurred in the past and find patterns. They look at how many major earthquakes have happened and the distance of time between them. Of course, this isn’t exactly a precise way to determine when an earthquake will happen but it’s the best thing we’ve got so far.

An example of this is the 1868 earthquake on the Hayward Fault. Their studies showed that large earthquakes happen on that fault line about every 140 years. If you add up the years it has been since 1868, well, that’s one of the reasons they predict that we are due for “the BIG one.”

Last week, two moderate earthquakes shook the Bay Area (on Thursday, October 20), the first one hit at  2:41 PM and the second happened that evening at 8:16 PM. The earthquakes were small but those that felt it and were near the earthquake’s epicenter — where the earthquake started from — were really shaken up. And both of the earthquakes by coincidence took place on the same fault.

The other odd thing is, that Thursday morning, at 10:20 AM, was the set time for the statewide duck and cover earthquake drill, or “The Great California ShakeOut.” Also, just three days before that was the 22nd anniversary of the 1989 earthquake.

Here at St. Leo the Great, while we students were still at school, it felt so strong that everyone went to “duck and cover” and evacuated the building after that for safety. It was only a magnitude 4.0 but many students and even the adults were in shock. Tiara Chinn in 8th grade, who was in the gym at the time of the earthquake, said, “I was really scared!”

An earthquake happens when two blocks of earth, called tectonic plates, slide past each other. This causes the earth to shake. California just happens to be where two tectonic plates are, which is why we have so many earthquakes all the time.The result of this shaking can cause great damage and can also kill. This is why people in California must always be prepared and why we have events like the “ShakeOut” drill.

There are plenty of ways you can prepare for an earthquake like knowing safe places to take cover and having supplies ready in case something goes wrong. Just remember to be prepared and educate yourself so that if an earthquake does strike, you know what to do. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

(Source: “The Science of Earthquakes“)

by: Saba Kinfe, 8th grade
Editor-in-Chief
THE LION LEDGER

Back in November, city officials decided that kids are not entitled to a toy unless your meal includes fruits, vegetables, etc. Now Happy Meals from McDonald’s have to be over 600 calories or 35% of calories from fat. The ordeal sparked a lot of controversy. It was called the “Happy Meal Ban.” (Source: “San Francisco Bans the Happy Meal“).

Originally Gavin Newsom, the current mayor of San Francisco, didn’t want this to happen. He said he would not approve the decision because he says that parents should be the ones to decide on what their kids eat and not the government. (Source: “San Fran Ban Fan Slams Happy Meal Plan“).

Unfortunately, the city rejected his decision and moved forward with the law.

The change can be good because it can get kids more motivated to eat the nutrients they need for a healthy lifestyle. It may also be bad considering that many cannot afford the cost of “real” healthy food and not be able to adjust to the new way.

To help this type of cause, Michelle Obama has a new campaign starting in February to provide better and healthier foods across America in low-income neighborhoods. Congress also recently passed a nutrition bill that involved healthier eating for kids.

The goal is to decrease childhood obesity and bad nutrition habits by kids.

by: Zyhir Brown, 8th grade
Editor-in-Chief / THE LION LEDGER

ADDITIONAL SOURCE: “Congress Passes Sweeping Child Nutrition Bill”

If you watched the news a few days ago, you would have seen the video on the wildfires that were burning in Los Angeles last weekend. Now, what would you do if you were put in the same situations as the people who were in L.A.?

What would you do if you walked out of your house on a windy day and saw black smoke and a blazing fire just a few blocks away from your house? Would you scream? Would you run into your house and stay inside to hide?

PHOTO CAPTION: Imagine this same shot looking up into the Oakland Hills, taken last month, but 17 years ago… and instead? Heavy smoke and dark skies, with ashes falling down from above. (Looks kind of like L.A. too!). People living in Oakland and Berkeley faced a wildfire right in their front and back yards, and needed to escape fast!

Many people were put through this same type of situation on October 20, 1991.

A big fire spread around the northern hills of the Oakland area and southeastern Berkeley. It started around 10:30 a.m. and took up to three days to get the fire cooled down. The actual fires weren’t put out until the next morning.

If you were at St. Leo’s church on that Sunday, you would have been able to see and smell the smoke from the fire a “few” blocks away (not really, that’s why it’s in quotes) since our school is near the area where the fire was burning.

Sadly, the deadly fire killed up to 25 people, and injured 150. Over 3,000 homes were lost and about 1500 acres of land destroyed. Last month was the 17th anniversary of the disaster.

Almost every firefighter in Oakland and Berkeley showed up at the fire scene. It was so big that Alameda, San Francisco, and other cities around the Bay Area and even the state came to help fight the fire.

(Source: Wikipedia.org Entry- “Oakland Firestorm of 1991“)

Semhal G., 8th grade
Editor-in-Chief / THE LION LEDGER