ODE to Journalism

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Jayden

Could I Keep Those Chickens?

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It’s not that uncommon to hear about people keeping chickens. It just means you save money on your weekly shopping, right? It takes a lot to care for chickens. After all, they’re not exactly your standard house pet. 

If you’ve been at ODE for any amount of time you’ve probably heard talk about the chickens. Behind the Judson building, someone keeps chickens in their backyard. You can clearly see them from a room on the third floor affectionately called “Elizabeth Yorks room”. There are even binoculars laying around for the specific purpose of viewing our feathered companions. But this raises a question: How does one keep chickens? It’s not as simple as keeping a cat as a pet. Many factors go into it. Things like housing, food, maintenance, and your county’s legal requirements. 

Let’s start with housing. The price of a chicken a day old is 3 to 5 dollars and for rare breeds, it’s 50 dollars. Not that expensive to buy one. It can potentially start a business. A chicken coop can cost up to 500 dollars.  That is the only thing that is expensive in raising chickens. On the bright side, u can always make your own coop.

 Chickens can live up to 16 years; a pretty long time. So for the price that it cost for 16 years is actually pretty cheap. The chickens are old but not exactly dead yet.  They can be great for business and maintain themselves for so long.  

 You are not allowed to have  50 chickens and must keep them 150 feet from any dwelling here you can have chickens in oak park, Chicago, or Cicero.  That is why we see chickens across from us. Lailas grandma also owns chickens

 In conclusion, Its very cheap to have chickens and to keep them or such a long time.    Most likely they are alive.

Why is it important to celebrate Day of the dead?

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scene of miguel(to the left ) and his dog ( to the right)

Halloween is just around the corner and everyone is excited for it, but The Day of the Dead celebration is approaching as well. What exactly does it represent and how is it celebrated?

It’s October, meaning that there will be a few holidays meaning time out of school. One very interesting one is Dia De Los Muertos or The Day of the Dead. Dia De Los Muertos is a holiday that has been celebrated as far back as 3,000 years. The holiday is about remembering and honoring your loved ones who have passed. It’s so popular that a few children’s films have been made around it, like Coco which you might of heard about or even seen in theatres. Día de los Muertos is a beautiful holiday that is celebrated in dozens of latin american countries, making it a holiday of cultural importance. Here are some things you should know about the holiday.

Altars are a very important part of the holiday, and the center of the altar, the ofrenda, is built in graveyards. They are not meant for worshipping but to welcome the spirits from the other realm. They load the ofrenda with offerings, photos, and greetings for their loved ones. They use petals and flowers to decorate the altar and incense from maple trees and smoke to purify the altar. Another important part of the holiday is skulls, or “Calaveras”,in Spanish. They are used to decorate and poke fun at people who are living and to mock death. These skulls come in many different forms. Humorous poems called calaveras literarias or skull literature are written about deceased loved ones, usually as funny poems or anecdotes. Many during celebrations wear masks or face paint of a smiling skull. Skulls also come in the form of candies, cookies, and clay decorations. These treats are used as gifts for both the living and dead. 

a important to Hispanic culture and it should be more appreciated for its cultural significance and meaningful practices. Movies like Coco and The Book of Life have brought new notoriety to this holiday and new books and movies are sure to increase the holidays notoriety much more in the coming years.