Fill it up

Matthew Palencia

On Feb. 23, in the north parking lot of Downey High School, Lorena Pedroza, 12, explains the pros of gas prices dropping. “I like having extra cash so I can spend on food,” Pedroza said.

Mia Dixon-Slaughter, Co-Editor-in-Cheif
February 25, 2015

Students are filling up their tanks with less stress about how much money they are spending and more excitement about how much more they can do with the money they are saving since the drop in gas prices late last year.

Students that commute to school every day save more money, since filling up a tank does not take up as much of their money as it used to. With the discovery of a new oil source in the Gulf of Mexico, the amount of gas being produced has increased greatly. The surplus in oil made gas a less demanding necessity causing the value to decrease resulting in the cheaper prices. When it was suspected that America was low on oil in the past, the prices of gas ranged from $3.50-$4.00.

Senior Lorena Pedroza enjoys the price change because of how much she has to commute around the city. The cheaper gas price allows her to save an extra buck to her pocket. On the weekend she enjoys going on dates with her boyfriend, so this gives her more money to spend on her dates.

“I drive to school and I have a job that I drive to,” Pedroza said. “Even though my job is really close to school, it would still end up costing me a little more to go back and forth.”

Although it seems like a small savings compared to before, the difference in noticeable in the amount it takes to fill up a tank in automobiles, especially those that require more gas such as bigger cars and trucks.

Senior Jaime Garcia drives a G-wagon Jeep, which requires frequent fill-ups. Initially, Garcia would sped $50-$60 on a full tank of gas, but since the drop in gas prices he has noticed that he saves a significant amount of money.

“I used to spend so much money on gas,” Garcia said. “Now I can fill up my tank for about $10-$15 cheaper; it’s great.”

While the price of gas is much lower than before and seems to show a pattern of declining, the prices do fluctuate and rise every so often. The prices have stayed at a price no larger than $2.60 for about a month but prices recently have reached $2.90-$3.00.

Junior Mark Garza keeps track of gas prices when he fills up his gas tank and recently noticed the higher prices. Garza likes to save as much money as possible since he knows he will have to fill up his tank again soon.

“Gas prices have gone up,” Garza said. “I like to save the money that I would usually spend on gas for the next time I need to fill up my tank.”

The price of gas right now is just under $3.00 but is predicted to decline again soon. With the discovery of the new oil source, students can expect a low and affordable price to get a full tank of gas in their car.

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About the Contributors

Mia Dixon-Slaughter, Co-Editor-in-Cheif

Mia Dixon-Slaughter, Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Downey Legend, stepped into the world of journalism 3 years ago as a sophomore. After a great deal of persuasion from her two best friends, who were on staff at the time, Dixon-Slaughter submitted her application at the semester and was welcomed shortly after. “I love writing and always have,” Slaughter said, “but I’ve always stuck strictly to literature so branching out into a different style and type of writing has helped me develop as a writer.” Although writing essays and covering stories can be polar opposites, the writer adjusted without much trouble. During her time at The Downey Legend, she has covered numerous stories, fiddled with the camera, and established the newspaper’s credibility on social media. She is competent enough to know what it takes to have efficient deadlines; all Slaughter has to do now is to guide her staff in that direction.

If the writer is not covering stories happening around school, she is still somehow always somewhere on campus. Juggling AP classes, an ASB position, and her role in newspaper, Slaughter often finds herself with a hectic schedule. This being said, when genuine free time presents itself, she takes full advantage of it. “I love getting lost or ending up in places spontaneously because it feels so great to not have an agenda sometimes,” Dixon-Slaughter said. While the senior is busy getting ready for college and balancing out the rest of her responsibilities, she hopes to provide the staff with an exemplary example of the amount of greatness that can rise from commitment.

Matthew Palencia, Photographer

Matthew Palencia, a Downey Legend photographer who is 18 years old joined Downey’s newspaper to experience a class that’s also an activity, get more into photographing, and to overcome his shyness. Palencia is fascinated how taking a picture captures emotions in that moment. “ Really did I take that? No I didn’t take that? That’s not going to happen again.” Is what he says when he takes an amazing picture. Palenica met a Columbian man who was in love with capturing pictures. The man inspired him and showed him many things about capturing beautiful and meaning pictures.

During his free time, Palencia likes to play soccer with his family and friends. He does not take the game seriously; he just plays for fun and to bond with his family. His favorite foods are chicken and cheeseburgers. Palencia loves dogs; he has a poodle that’s 2 years old. When Matthew graduates this year, his goals are to go to a community college then into a university to major in photography. Palencia hopes to accomplish his goals on being a photographer.