Happy Belated Thanksgiving! On Thursday, November 17, La Raza Club hosted a small feast of homemade Mexican style tamales to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Middle College community. The very delicious tamales were made by La Raza Club’s co-president Esmeralda, who is also known for making very tasty drinks like horchata and jamaica. La Raza Club leaders, Esmeralda Vargas Gutierrez and Ruby Estrada Contreras, want to thank everyone for joining the celebration and staying to watch the movie, Instructions Not Included. La Raza Club is dedicated to creating a close-knit community and provides events like this for all students to join and have fun. La Raza Club will be hosting a second feast on Thursday, December 8th, to celebrate the holiday season and the end of a very successful first semester with pupusas, a salvadorian dish, brought by Ruby Estrada.

We know that turkey isn't everyone's favorite holiday food, so we have chosen the most popular turkey alternatives for your celebrations. A huge thanks to Mimi Wilson, who inspired this exploration of turkey alternatives!

Instead of eating your ordinary, run-of-the-mill turkey, Mimi’s family decided to do a combo meat dish: turkey, duck, and chicken (Turducken). The dish consists of a chicken stuffed into a duck, further stuffed into a turkey. It is known as a three-bird roast outside of the United States and Canada. The dish was popularized by American football player, John Madden, during the NFL Thanksgiving Games.

For our meat eaters, we have a couple of options for your palette. We suggest going for the Turducken. However, if you are in the mood for a more subtle taste, we recommend a classic roasted chicken, a honey-roasted ham, or, to spice it up, a duck! These are just some of the meat-iful options we suggest!

Now, while this next category is not for our friends with seafood allergies, we are huge fish fans! Some of our favorite seafood recommendations are pecan-crusted salmon with a honey dressing, a seafood platter not made for the faint of heart, and, certainly not least, King Crab! The crab doesn't have to be king, but it goes perfectly with a side of melted butter.

We understand that these holidays sometimes lacks a food-inclusive option for people with those pesky dietary restrictions. Fret not, for we have ideas for your vegan and vegetarian friends. First, hit it with some tofu or perhaps a tofu sandwich. Tofu is very versatile as you can add as many different toppings and sauces as you want. Another fun option is vegan turkey, and yup, you heard that right, folks, vegan. Fun fact: it's made out of mushrooms, as most vegan alternatives are! How fun is that?

Whether it is to spark your creativity, follow your dietary needs, or you are just not a turkey lover, we hope that these suggestions get your non-turkey-loving mind rolling. We hope you had fun following along on this turkey journey!

As Certified Booksellers™ at an undisclosed bookstore, we braced ourselves for a busy Black Friday Weekend. Only one of us had worked the previous Black Friday (Katie) while the other wasn’t scheduled (Jaden) last year, so we were only half prepared.

The store encounters strange things on a day-to-day basis (a woman throwing beer at employees, the homophobic “if I don’t get my order, people are going to die” man, and a barista having to dodge a fist, just to name a few) so we felt pretty accustomed to the bookselling lifestyle already. So, from experienced employees, here are four things we wish we knew to do while working during Black Friday Weekend:

I think that it's safe to say that we have had our fair share of retail experiences. If you are looking to do a retail job or have one right now, we hope that you got a few things out of this article. As fellow retail workers, we are on your side! And as much of a joke article this is (kinda), don’t be afraid to show your friend, family member, or anyone that works in customer service some gratitude this holiday season. It’s tough work so to all those working retail, good luck this holiday season!

It almost comes naturally to sit by the fire and drink eggnog or hot chocolate during the winter holidays. What other drinks are available to share with friends and family during this season? Four of my friends and I visited a couple of popular coffee shops to evaluate some of their holiday drinks. Starbucks is best known for its pumpkin-spice latte, but in December, it’s the Caramel Brulee Latte and the Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato that take the spotlight.

The Caramel Brulee Latte tastes like a normal caramel frappuccino, which can be pleasing to customers who like something that tastes familiar. The only difference is that it’s hot and topped with crunchy caramel shavings. We rated it a 3.5 out of 5.

The Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato was our least favorite drink we tried. It tastes like watered-down cinnamon apple-flavored oatmeal that was too sweet even for those with a sweet tooth, so we rated it a 1.5 out of 5.

The next stop was Peet’s Coffee! We ordered the Peppermint Mocha and were pleasantly surprised. The drink is a bit on the bitter side since it is made with dark chocolate. The richness of the chocolate and the slight hint of mint were a perfect match. Kylie Cheng said it was her favorite drink and we collectively rated it a 4.5 out of 5. We would totally recommend it!

The last coffee shop we went to was Phil’s Coffee and I had their hot chocolate. There isn’t much to say about it other than it doesn’t taste like the hot chocolate packets from the store. It’s not too sweet and not too bitter, and overall a good hot chocolate. I gave it a rating of 4/5. Make sure you try some of these delicious drinks during the holiday season!

Happy Holidays! To celebrate the season and the end of a very successful first semester, La Raza Club hosted a small celebration on Thursday, December 8th, with Salvadorian pupusas and a movie to tie it all together. The pupusas were specially made by an authentic Salvadorian restaurant, America’s House. Esmeralda, La Raza’s co-president, also brought homemade guacamole and chips. The event brought the community together for one last celebration before starting finals next week. The leaders of the club, Esmeralda and Ruby, want to thank everyone for joining the celebration and for making La Raza Club possible. We wish everyone a happy holiday and good luck in finals! La Raza Club will continue to host similar events next semester and all Middle College students are invited to join us in creating a fun-filled club that appreciates Latin culture.

The guaranteed transfer contracts available to transfer students could alleviate the stress of college applications even further. By completing the IGETC through 60 college units, you are able to do a Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) to one of the six participating UCs of your choice. CSUs and some private schools have similar programs, including Saint Mary's and Santa Clara University.   

The last and probably the most important benefit is the money that you can save. It is no question that attending a 4-year university is expensive, even after financial aid. Since college is free for San Mateo County residents starting in the spring of 2023, transferring significantly reduces the costs of attending a university. By transferring, you will only have to pay about 50% of what you would have paid if you went straight into a university as a freshman.  

Devin Gowdy & Jaden Luke

Steven Acuna

Diego Figueroa

Michaela Gonzalez

Sarah Grover

Blythe Jones

Charlotte Korer

Maxwell Miller

Mimi Wilson

Katie Yeh