Renegade Rip Issue 1 Feb. 10, 2021

Opinion
Page 8
The Renegade Rip www.therip.com
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021
COVID-19 is taking its toll
on local businesses
My friendship within
video games
Gaming
By Charr Davenport
Reporter
By Victoria Meza
Opinion Editor
The COVID-19 pandemic
and the lockdown
and changes affecting so
many aspects of daily
life in the United States
that is has caused since
last March have forced
most to put their lives
on hold. Several jobs
were revoked and lost,
a lot of non-essential
businesses had to close,
and everyone started to
wear masks (and some
people donned’s gloves)
to avoid getting contaminated.
Almost a year later,
there are still some
small business that,
even if they are open,
they have a lot of rules
that do not allow customers
to enjoy them
as before. Some pools
are closed, and the way
the professional environment
changed is affecting
most people, the
way they work, the way
they shop and certainly
the way they socialize.
If there is something
good about the pandemic,
it is that showed
everyone that nothing
is forever and that their
economic stability is not
as stable as they may
COVID has left many
foreign students in limbo
By Razan Makhlouf
Reporter
It’s been a year since
COVID-19 has caused
confusion and fear that
completely took over
daily life, as no one had
any idea what was going
to happen. As an international
student, I was
already struggling with
tuition, work permit
restrictions, and all the
rules and regulations
that pertained to us.
Tuition fees for international
students can be
four or even five times
more costly in comparison
to regular students.
The pandemic added
to the challenges
international students
face, many colleges
and universities around
the country get a large
amount of their funding
from international
students. Adding to the
stress, no one seemed
to know what to do because
people had not
faced anything like this
in their lifetime. This
left international students
with no financial
aid, no way to go home
because international
airports were closed,
and no way to increase
the number of hours
allowed to work with a
work permit. Six weeks
later, a lockdown was ordered.
Many businesses
such as restaurants and
shopping malls began
to shut down.
have once considered
it; Suddenly, someone
could lose their job and
be left with nothing else.
So many businesses
have been affected due
to the Covid 19 situation;
the professional
environment changed
in a way that most
people are no longer
doing what they prepared
themselves to do.
A lot of people had to
“go back” and reinvent
themselves. Some people
started working as
delivery drivers, some
people started to work
as a salesperson selling
their stuff, and some
others had to divide
their time to get a parttime
job that would
help them cover the lost
hours and get the bread
to the table.
According to the
Kern County Public
Health Department,
there are about 94,113
cases of Covid-19 in
Kern County as of Feb.
1. This means that Kern
County is still under the
purple tier so there are
a lot of business that are
not open such as restaurants,
some theme
parks, and some gyms,
or some activities such
as indoor dining or indoor
concerts, that are
still not allowed.
As of this writing,
there is still businesses
that have remain closed.
Several local businesses
that have sued Calif.
Gov. Gavin Newson
because of the measures
he implemented
to avoid the spread of
the virus, according to
a statement by the journal
BakersfieldNow.
These measures have
been affecting businesses
that had to close their
door permanently or, in
some cases, forever.
Some people are getting
fired from their
jobs permanently or
furloughed for a little
while. Either way, the
circumstances have
made people feel so uncertain.
Also, As reported in
the Bakersfield Californian,
Mechanics
Bank Arena and other
local venues lost nearly
$800,000 due to the
pandemic, converting
it into another consequence
of the current
situation.
Life has changed
since the pandemic
started, and it will be
difficult for it to go back
to how things were. So
Shortly afterward,
schools began to shut
down as well and classes
were shifted to online
schooling. Those who
did not have internet
had to struggle until
they were able to obtain
it or waited until different
programs were offered
so that they were
able to finish off the
spring 2020 semester.
If that wasn’t stressful
enough, a large number
of expenses followed for
safety supplies, including
over-purchasing of
common household
items such as disinfectant
and toilet paper
from fear of shortages.
It’s been an extreme
struggle for so many
people and not much
has been done for international
students.
With all these grants
and financial aid opportunities
being offered to
regular students aside
from loans and scholarships,
or even the option
to work extra hours with
their new flexible schedules,
it was very surprising
that there is very
little to be done for international
students. Instead,
tuition increased
by $600 per semester. It
feels unjust and not at
all expected. At the very
least, it would have been
extremely appreciated
and would have made
an enormous financial
difference to reduce
the number of required
“full-time” units from
many jobs had to move
online, and people had
to reinvent themselves
and learn how to use
certain tools; however,
that could be the bright
side of it. COVID-19
has forced people to
become resourceful in
ways that include and
it’s adapting to the new
technologies and learning
a lot of new things,
like how to socialize at a
safe distance.
Although the situation
is extremely difficult,
there is still hope as
long people stick to the
protocols to prevent the
virus, people are eventually
going to be able
to go back to their jobs
and hang out with their
friends with no fear of
being contaminated.
With the development
and emergency
FDA approval of the
Pfizer and Moderna
vaccines, there is also a
lot of hope. The distribution
is going far more
slowly than most people,
including the new
presidential administration
would like, but
hopefully, this is going
to be a chance to go
back to a slightly different
“normal life.”
12 to 9 for international
students to allow the
ability to balance out financial
expenses.
The fear of failing, or
worry about international
students having
to go back to their home
countries without knowing
if returning to the
United States would be
possible causes so much
uncertainty; Combined
that with the stress of
not being able to pay
everything on time, the
possibility of losing excellent
academic standing,
a lower GPA or
even worse, not getting
a chance to finish your
education when you are
so close to obtaining
your degree, is unlike
any other struggle. We
have all lost a lot this
past year; International
students deserve just as
much assistance as they
put in hard work and
are just as dedicated as
every other student.
Every gamer has
a favorite game. For
some, that game is
a masterpiece or an
industry hit. For others,
it can be an awful
game that for some
reason touched their
heart. For me, it’s “Final
Fantasy XV.”
“Final Fantasy XV”
is a video game developed
by Square Enix
that was released in
2016. It is the, you
guessed it, 60th game
in the Final Fantasy
franchise. That number
does not include
remasters and Final
Fantasy games that
do not share the title,
like “Chocobo
Mystery Dungeon.”
It does, however, include
mobile games
and remakes. Without
those, it is the 49th
game in the series.
The reviews for “Final
Fantasy XV” were
generally favorable of
the overall game, critical
of the weak storyline
(and it is weak),
and very praising of
the four main characters
and their realistic
flaws, anxieties, and
emotions, as well as
their interactions with
each other.
The game follows
Prince Noctis Lucis
Caelum CXVI and
his three friends as
they go on the adventure
of a lifetime.
From this point on,
there will be spoilers.
You, the player, are
Noctis, a 20-year-old
prince who must travel
to another country
to fulfill an arranged
marriage as part of a
peace treaty between
the warring Lucis and
Niflheim. He and his
best friends set off on
what is supposed to
be Noctis’ last road
trip as a bachelor but
quickly turns into the
fight to not only reclaim
his country but
save their world, Eos,
from everlasting darkness.
Throughout the
story, we see Noctis
and friends Gladio,
Ignis, and Prompto
at their lowest of lows
as the tolls of war affect
them in different
ways, both mentally
and physically. But
the beautiful theme of
Final Fantasy XV is
Charr Davenport
friendship. Not only
are Noctis’ friends always
there for him,
but he’s there for his
friends as well. But
beyond that, Noctis
is forced to learn that
he can’t handle everything
by himself
and that he needs to
trust and rely on those
around him, as hard
as it can be.
I was at a low point
when this game came
into my life. I had just
flunked out of Bakersfield
College’s Applied
Music Program, my
relationship with my
family was decently
hostile, I felt like I had
few people I could rely
on, and I felt more
alone than I ever had
in my life. Shortly
after a brief video
game conversation on
the transit bus with a
friend, he lent me his
copy of the game.
I started the game
on Feb. 23, 2018,
and finished one day
short of a month later
on Mar. 22. During
that month as Noctis,
I had a revelation
about friendship and
strength that changed
my life for the better.
Your friends will often
help you if you are
open with them, but
they can not help you
if you hide everything
because they will not
know what is going
on. It’s not weak to
need help.
After learning that
lesson, I became closer
with many of my
friends, including my
best friend, and my
mental health improved
a lot. The
more I opened up and
let my walls down,
the more my friends
would do the same,
eventually resulting in
mutually strengthened
bonds between us. To
get close to others, you
have to let them get
close to you. You have
to be vulnerable.