April 2012 Issue

OPINION

FEATURE

BULLY: New documentary on school bullying shines light on a hidden problem.

(6)

BUEHLER HOUSE: Local private home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is for sale.

(8)

The Volume 54, Issue 6

ENTERTAINMENT

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ESSAYS: Kids say the darndest things.

(17)

Mirador

April 20, 2012

Students Produce Spring Performances

by Rachael Oczkus and Sophia Bollag

Student-run fundraising shows have taken Miramonte by storm this month.

Last Thursday and Friday, the year’s second bi-annual Performers for Progress show generated almost $5,000 in two sold-out performances. The show raised money for the Sophia Project, a charity based in Oakland that provides shelter and care for children and families at risk of recurring homelessness.

In her speech at the end of the Friday night performance, senior Sarah Brovelli said she, her co-organizer Cecily Schmidt, and business manager Hannah Swernoff chose the Sophia Project because of its touching mission statement and proximity to home.

The show included performances by student bands The Funk Brothas and The Herbivores, original dramatic works by the Goats of Denmark acting group and the drama classes, solo performances of the performance poem “B” by senior Lisa Chang and the song “At Last” by senior Sofie Woodlee, and various songs performed by other student singers and musicians.

This year’s International Night will take place April 25 here at Miramonte High School. The event is a fundraiser

organized by the Diversity Club to bring awareness of our community’s diversity while raising money for various charities. Admission is free, but attendees are charged for food. All proceeds will be donated to two charities: Invisible Children and Vietnamese Education.

Invisible Children, which has received national attention lately for its Kony 2012 campaign, is an organization striving to end the use of child soldiers in Joseph Kony’s rebel war in Uganda and surrounding

Photo: I. Lee

African countries and restore affected communities in Africa to peace.

Along with Invisible Children, some of the money from the event will be donated to the Vietnam Fund for Education, Music, and Infrastructure. The organization improves the lives of Vietnamese children by improving school infrastructure, libraries, and food programs, and through traditional music.

International Night will not only consist of international cuisine, but also of performances by students and local acts.

This year, some of the featured talents are Kevin Zheng the J-Pop performer, spoken word poetry, Japanese sword fighting, Miramonte’s Jazz Band, and Belinda Yan, who will play the guzheng, a traditional Chinese instrument. Each language class will run a booth around the perimeter of the room while the performances and feasting take place. Henna will also be available for those who wish to enhance their edgy style.

Latin and Spanish students who attend will receive extra credit from their teachers.

For a closer look at International Night, visit mhsmirador.com for an exclusive video.

Left: Seniors Julia Withers, Alec Bahramipour, Ali Hasanain, and Mary Doyle performed as MCs in the Performers for Progress spring show.

Facebook Now a Factor in Admissions Decisions

by Maya Sherne

In 2008, Kaplan Test Prep, a website providing high school test prep and admission help, began a survey tracking colleges who checked applicants’ social networking pages to learn more about them. Ten percent of schools reported viewing a student’s Facebook or social networking page.

“It seems colleges, as they become more competitive, are looking at different factors when considering students,” Associate Principal Jan Carlson said. “Colleges can do whatever they want, they can make that choice to determine which students will make up the best freshman class.”

On March 9, the Miramonte newsletter sent out a message which stated “Warning: Admissions Officers Check Out Students.

College-bound students, beware: College admissions officers may be looking you up on Facebook.”

“It sounds like this is a current practice that is becoming more and more common,” Carlson said.

Enclosed in the letter was a link to Admission School, a website giving “news, advice, and information for the college bound.” Its article’s focus was a summary of Kaplan Test Prep’s 2011 Survey of college admissions officers.

“If you are cursing on there, or putting people down, I think I’d want to know,” Principal Adam Clark said. “I think it could have an effect on whether or not I admit someone to a school or whether or not I give them a job.”

On Sept. 21, 2011, Kaplan released the continued research of the 2008 survey.

The article is titled “Kaplan Test Prep Survey Finds Growing Acceptance in the Practice of Exploring Applicants’ Digital Trails,” and further explains the increased number of college admissions officers using the Internet to look into prospective students.

“I think it really does paint a picture of how somebody is, and I think that if I were to let someone into college, and maybe they were on the fence, I would want to know what type of person they were,” Clark said. “Anyone can say anything in an interview or in an essay, but what type of person are you?”

After interviewing college admission officers at the nation’s top schools, the survey stated that 85 percent of the 359 colleges surveyed use Facebook to recruit students. Twenty percent of schools reported “Google-ing” them, and 24 percent had gone to a Facebook or social networking page of a prospective student. Within three years, there was a 14 percent rise in cyber searching, and a 12 percent increase in the discovery of negative information that later affected the student’s’ application.

“There are some really hateful and mean things that can be said on people’s Facebook pages, on people’s Twitter pages, through text messages, and picture mail,” Clark said. “I think that sometimes young people don’t fully grasp that once they put something online, their data footprint is there and will be there forever.”

According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Cox Communications’ 2007 annual poll, the large majority of teens (71 percent) have

established online profiles. However, high words. It’s just that kind of comparison.” school administration should not be stuA majority of teens (58 percent) don’t dents’ greatest worries. think posting photos or other personal info “We actually couldn’t even get on Face- on social networking sites is unsafe. book for some years, but as administrators, “My advice to students on a social Facebook is unblocked from our machine, network would be to always think that and that’s only in case of some emergen- somebody, whether it be a parent, an older cies,” Clark said. “Unless we are friends friend, or a teacher could view it,” Clark with someone on Facebook or have that said. “If you’re on a social network, it is person’s password, it doesn’t really do us not 100 percent private. It can always come any good.” back to you. I would just use caution and “I know there was a rumor around that be positive about it. Be who you are.” we had an alter ego profile, that was abEducation consulting organization Edusolutely not true,” Clark said. “At Mira- ventures took a poll of nearly 11,000 stumonte, we do nothing on Facebook.” dents to demonstrate the implications of According to NCMEC, 47 percent of college’s recruitment strategies. Forty-one teens aren’t worried about others using percent of students reported using Facetheir personal info in ways they don’t want, book to research and “like” schools. and 49 percent are unconcerned about “I think I would “like” a college I want posting personal info online which might to go to, just so they can get an idea of who negatively affect their future.

I am,” sophomore Kayla Sigaroudi said.

“It’s common practice for teens now “Ninety-nine point nine percent of our to put everything out there,” Carlson students are good kids,” Clark said. “They said. “And sometimes I think it’s perhaps shouldn’t put themselves in compromising too revealing.” positions where the wrong image can be “It was very hard to ask a girl out on a construed from something they’re doing.” date from your kitchen phone, it wasn’t Miramonte High School Non-Profit Organization US Postage Paid, Orinda, as easy then to just 750 Moraga Way Ca Permit #301 send a text message,” Orinda, CA 94563 Clark said. “I bring that up because I could see where it would be easy to say something negative about somebody or to make a threat to somebody because it’s just typing some

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2 News 4/20/12

Local Charity Chapter Lends a Hand

by Devin Mottier Helping Hearts, a small, student-operated organization founded by sophomore Caie Kelley in 2008, allows Miramonte students the opportunity to give back to the community in a low-stress yet high-impact environment.

Every Tuesday, the nine Helping Hearts members trek to Del Rey Elementary School to tutor third, fourth, and fifth graders. Each elementary student recieve oneon-one tutoring from an assigned tutor in order to help the kids grasp challenging concepts and schoolwork in a patient, slower-paced environment.

“Orinda is a really competitive area,” Kelley said.

“But there are still a lot of kids who struggle, and who fall behind because their parents work and they don’t get the help they need. Del Rey was a really good place to start because I was still in touch with many of my old teachers and wanted to give back to my elementary school.”

The voulnteers have also participated in Project Linus, an organization that recruits “blanketeers” to raise money and produce blankets and quilts for children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need.

“We have little projects that we do to help kids

around the area,” Kelley said. “During the summer, we started the local chapter of Project Linus for kids in hospitals and in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco.”

Towards the beginning of the holiday season, the members also worked with the Bay Area Crisis Nursery to wrap presents for the kids there whose parents aren’t able to take care of them.

“Going to Bay Area Crisis Nursery was an amazing opportunity for all of us,” sophomore member Caroline Colwell said. “It was so nice to see the kids and how excited they were to receive gifts.”

Despite currently being a simple small town organization, Kelley has big plans for the future. A group of future leaders has already been selected for when the current sophomore and senior members graduate.

“The great thing about Helping Hearts is that it’s a really casual group that just wants to help in little ways,” said Kelley. “We aren’t exactly changing the world, but hopefully if we’ve helped even one student do better in school, we’ve made a difference.”

Currently, the group is small but very strong and motivated. Arrangements are in the works for next year regarding its status as a school club as well as widening its foundation to become a well known Orinda organization.

Photo: C. Burke

Founder Caie Kelley works with a fifth grader at Del Rey on one of Helping Hearts’ many tutoring trips.

Basketball Coach’s Dismissal Raises Controversy

by Grace Hilty At the close of the 2012 season, Principal Adam Clark informed varsity men’s basketball coach Dave Brown that his oneyear contract would not be renewed. Due to Ed Code 44919 and the terms of Brown’s one-year contract agreement, Clark did not have to disclose reasons behind Brown’s dismissal.

In a statement released via email to team families on April 6, Brown questioned Clark’s motives for the dismissal. In the statement, Brown said he believed that “playing time decisions” may have determined his job status.

“Mr. Clark should not have been involved in playing time decisions, especial-

ly with his son on the team,” Brown wrote.

“He blurred the lines between his role as parent and principal—creating a clear conflict of interest—and then used his administrative powers to unfairly dismiss me.”

Upon presenting documents that supported Brown’s qualifications as a team coach in the Acalanes Union High School District, Associate Superintendent Kevin French informed Brown that he plans to promptly review the documents contents.

However, French has said that he believes that the former coach’s job status will not change.

Clark explained that all coaches are on one-year contracts that expire at the end of each season. At the end of each year, the coach’s position is reviewed in a series of

meetings.

“At the end of every season, we have a meeting,” Clark said. “Not just myself, but the athletic director as well, even the district, if need be. We then make a decision pertaining to whether or not we want that coach back and if we are going to offer them their position again.”

Clark said he also meets with the coaches of high-profile sports to discuss the season.

“This isn’t something I decide in a vaccuum,” Clark said. “I speak to colleagues as well as administrative and district staff before making these types of decisions.”

Brown was released on non re-elect without cause, so Clark is unable to comment on the reasons behind the coach’s

dismissal.

“In short, Brown and I would be in disagreement as to what he believes was the reason for his dismissal,” Clark said.

Brown’s dismissal prompted discussions within the high school basketbsll community on Internet forums. Brown led the varsity boys to two NCS games, and although they didn’t win either, the team still created a bond with their coach.

“I think we were all pretty shocked,” sophomore player Joey Goodreault said.

“I was surprised when I heard about Coach,” junior Kiran Shastri said. “There will be a difficult adjustment next year with a new coach, but I guess I’m excited to meet him. But it’s sad to see Coach Brown go.”

Spy Scandal Shakes Orinda An Orinda couple faces federal charges after allegedly selling American trade secrets to Chinese manufacturers

by Reese Levine

The United States Justice Department has accused an Orinda couple of conspiring to steal trade secrets from Dupont, a company based in Wilmington, Del., and giving them to companies directly supported by the People’s Republic of China.

Walter and Christina Liew, both Orinda residents, were charged with conspiracy to commit economic espionage, conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets, possession of trade secrets, conveying trade secrets, conspiracy to obstruct justice, witness tampering, conspiracy to tamper with evidence, and false statements.

Along with three other individuals and five companies, four of which belong to the Pangang Group, a state-owned enterprise located in China, the Lieuws allegedly conspired to illegally obtain the means to make chloride-route titanium dioxide (TiO2), a valuable white pigment used to color paints and plastics.

One of the companies in the FBI report, USA Performance Technology Inc., which is owned by the Lieuws and specializes in high technology and fine chemicals, including TiO2 pigments is at the center of the federal investigation.

According to the FBI report on the investigation so far, the Pangang Group companies were going to use the information to open a chloride-route TiO2 plant in Chongqing, China, replacing their older, less efficient sulfate-route method.

“This case demonstrates how technology developed by U.S. companies is vulnerable to concerted

efforts by competitors—both at home and abroad— to steal that technology,” U.S. attorney Melinda Hagg wrote in a report.

The FBI opened their investigation in March 2011 after Dupont reported that its TiO2 trade secrets had been misappropriated. In April 2011, Dupont sued USAPTI after trade secrets were found on one of the Lieuw’s computers.

In a press release by the FBI, Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Douglas wrote, “This [scheme] is not only unfair, but it does great damage to the U.S economy and as a result undercuts on national security.”

The Lieuws allegedly received over $20 million from Pangang Group companies. The money was wired to bank accounts in the names of relatives of Christina Lieuw as a reward for providing information used to develop mass TiO2 production.

On March 8, Christina Lieuw, who remains free on bail of $100,000, pleaded not guilty to selling secrets to the Chinese companies. An attorney for her husband, who remains jailed after being arrested in August 2011, said he plans to plead “not guilty,” as well. If found guilty on all counts, the Lieuws could face a sentence of up to 160 years each.

This case is also the first time U.S. officials have indicted a foreign state-owned company for criminal espionage, bringing up obvious questions of relations between China and the U.S. However, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington told the Wall Street Journal the case is a business dispute and is in no way connected to the Chinese government.

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Megan Freeman

Print Editor-in-Chief

Trevor Rechnitz

Online Editor-in-Chief

Sophia Bollag

Managing Editor

Lauren Dahlberg-Seeth News Editor

Tamar McCollom Opinion Editor

Grace Hilty

Feature Editor

Tennyson May Sports Editor

Rachael Oczkus

Entertainment Editor

Annie Odell

Business Manager

Mollie Swan

Head Photographer

Staff Writers

Georgia Briskey, Helen Britto, Colleen Burke, Karmi Chan, Natalie Condon, Josh Dathe, Nicola Gonzales, Julia Govan, Julia Hass, Spencer Holmes, Katie Hoskins, Kelsi Lerner, Reese Levine, Devin Mottier, Maddie Nicolaisen, Alison Pietrykowski, Maya Sherne, Natalie Wapniarski, Cassidy Waters, Cameron White, Kate Wolffe

Melissa Quiter Faculty Adviser

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Statement:

Placing truth, accuracy and objectivity first.

Letters to the Editor: Editorials reflect the opinions of the majority of the Mirador’s editorial board. Editorial topics are chosen by a consensus of section editors. The Mirador solicits letters to the editor. Signed letters to the editors can be sent to mhsmirador@gmail.com or placed in Mrs. Quiter’s box. Unsigned letters will not be published but names can be withheld by request. The editorial board reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length.

Editorial

4/20/12 Opinion 3

Daily Cal Cuts Signify Turbulent Times Over the past several years, a turbulent period in the history of journalism, papers across the country have been forced to close their doors due to financial burdens. But the latest strike against journalism is a different breed entirely, and it is perhaps more detrimental to the future of journalism than any of the other casualties thus far.

The Daily Californian, the 141-year-old daily newspaper for UC Berkeley, is in dire straits. Like many publications, The Daily Cal has struggled to monetize its website. And after years of cutting costs and sacrificing the Wednesday print publication, The Daily Cal faces a $200,000 budget deficit and is being evicted from their current headquarters in Eshleman Hall.

The Daily Cal is now reaching out to the Berkeley student body to help shoulder the financial burden and keep the paper afloat by adding a $2.00 increase each semester to the regular tuition, which amounts to a $93,800 revenue increase.

However, the VOICE Initiative, the initiative that proposes the minute tuition increase, has faced challenges from the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC), which has filed executive orders to shut down VOICE. Since The Daily Cal is independent and unaffiliated with the university, the ASUC and many other critics contend that there is no precedent for using university funding to fund a nonuniversity program.

Thus, The Daily Cal finds itself in much the same position that professional newspapers find themselves in: caught between being a business and a public service.

Journalism is a tricky field in that it is a business that requires an enormous amount of money even though it’s not something that should be exclusive to those who can pay for it. News is a public service that should be available to everyone, much like a police force or education. So how does one bring in revenue for something that shouldn’t require a fee, but desperately needs money to stay afloat? More troubling, is that to remain a reliable, unbiased news source, a newspaper must remain independent from outside influence even though sometimes an outside influence is in the best position to provide monetary help.

It is The Daily Cal’s independence from the UC system that makes it so special. Most school papers receive major funding from their affiliated university. It’s The Daily Cal’s independence that allows it to publish the truth, no matter how unsavory it may be, without the intrusion of the head mucky-mucks in the UC system. It’s The Daily Cal’s independence that protects good reporters from getting pushed out for publishing controversial material.

In fact, the reason that The Daily Cal separated from the university in 1971, was because the campus administration attempted to fire senior editors that wrote an editorial urging the community to take back People’ s Park.

And while The Daily Cal-supported VOICE Initiative is unorthodox, it doesn’t necessarily compromise the independence of the most famously independent student paper in the country. The money would be coming from each and every student, regardless of race, gender, or income. This means that The Daily Cal would be accountable to the entire student body, just as it already is in sentiment.

There are no major donors, just small donations from anyone, which means that The Daily Cal isn’t beholden to a certain demographic or person. In all functioning definitions, The Daily Cal would still remain the independent news source that it always has been even with the implementation of the VOICE Graphic: M. Nicolaisen Initiative. And at this juncture in the UC system’s history, with state funding at an all-time low and ongoing questions about the future of the system still lingering, preserving an independent student voice is important.

However, the loss of an independent voice and a local news source is the least of the problems if The Daily Cal doesn’t find funding. The Daily Cal might not be The New York Times, but it is one of the most celebrated and important student newspapers in the country, and it sends the wrong message to let it fail.

With more and more undergraduate journalism schools closing each year and grad school becoming even less economically feasible, the student newspaper is among the only methods in which to train the next generation of Walter Kronkites, Mike Wallaces, or Jill Abramsons. The next generation of journalists will hopefully be the one to create more stability for the field in the future. They will be the ones to take journalism into the 21st century while still maintaining the dedication to excellence of old school journalism.

But all these aspirations are dependent on there being student papers and journalism programs that help develop the next generation’s talent.

Journalism is a field in transition. There are questions about the future of journalism that still desperately need to be answered, and there are problems that still need to be addressed. But the bottom line is that journalism needs to continue to exist, and allowing one of the crucial stepping stones into the profession to go under is a sure fire way to undermine that goal. The Daily Californian needs to be protected. The method of protecting it, the VOICE Initiative, might be unconventional, but in this case, the ends justify the means.

Editorial Cartoons of the Issue

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Graphics: M. Colwell (left), E. Bao (right)

4 News 4/20/12

Mirador

Case Closed: The Secret of the Staff Room

by Natalie Wapniarski and Maddie Nicolaisen

other a look of horror, but then remembered we were in disguise. We just had to play it cool.

It was the cloudy morning of March It was time to be confident. We were 26. The Mirador room was quiet, too ready to amp up the role-play. We casuquiet, so we decided it was time to solve ally smiled at the entering teacher, not the mystery of the staff lounge once and saying a word, praying she wouldn’t say for all. anything to us. We were not so fortunate.

What exactly is the “staff room?” Mi“Oh, hello!” the teacher said. “Are rador ventured deep into the mysterious you guys substituting today? Have you room, where no student has ever gone guys tried the new soap in the bathroom? before. Arcade and hot tub? Not exactly.

It’s worth checking out.”

A dungeon to torture students in? Close, We both gave a little chuckle and hesbut still not there, yet. Who knows what itantly responded, “Oh yeah, we were really goes on in there? just on our way to check it out. Word on “I’ve always been curious about the street is that it’s dope.” Wait what? what really goes on in there,” said junior “I mean, we mean, got to run!” We Grace Barosky. “Teachers always come both quickly shuffled into the bathroom, out with food and goodies. I bet they hearts racing. We took a deep breath, and have parties all the time.” calmed down our heart rates, and looked First, we needed professional disaround. Wow. A two-stall, completely guises. Only a teacher can get into that normal, yet oddly clean bathroom… room, so we chose to take on the typical Real classy in the staff lounge. everyday substitute teacher look.

We looked at each other with disapDodging behind doors and water pointment, looking down at the sink. fountains, we drew closer to the door Might as well try the soap while we were across the hall. It was a long and treachthere. We both took a squirt of soap to erous journey, but we finally reached the hand. Our phalanges tingled with exthe door. But before we could make citement. The soap must have been qualour move, a janitor come out from beity. We put our hands under the surprishind the door, looked shiftily around, ingly warm water: a strong aroma filled and continued on his way. Once he had the whole room. Mmmm… White fig Photos: N. Wapniarski gone, we ventured closer, grabbing the Above: Several teachers caught socializing in their natural habitat. Below (from left to and aloe, what a delightful smell. handle. We exchanged looks. This was right): Staff room amenities include two refrigerators, free boxes of donuts, and highWe exited the bathroom, still fawnit; the big shebang, happening here and quality hand soap. ing over the newly found wondrous soap now, at this very moment. when we saw five teachers sitting at the We whipped open the door casually, hiding our trepida- ner, a grouping of questionably comfy couches and a cof- tables across the room. Forgetting our disguise, we full on tion and excitement behind our “substitute teacher” glass- fee table stacked with various magazines. The wall was sprinted out the front door, across the hall, and into safety, es. The room was empty. All was quiet. lined with labeled cubbies, filled with suspicious papers. a.k.a. the Mirador room.

Standing two feet from the door, ready to bounce at any The kitchen was a disgusting amount of messy.

So what we’ve concluded from this long, treacherous, second, we crept over to the kitchen area, to find a box of We must have missed something. There had to be a dangerous, horrifying endeavor is that the staff room is half eaten bagels and donuts. Staff meeting that morning? hot tub or foosball table behind some door, maybe the two couches, some computers, two smelly fridges, a dirty Most likely. Sneak a bite? No, too risky. one marked “women’s bathroom.” That would be a grand sink, a few tables, cubbies and a nice smelling bottle of We ventured to the fridge, to find literally nothing good cover name! soap in the bathroom. No student torture chamber, no hot but the smell of some nice old-fashioned cream cheese.

As we grabbed the handle of the women’s bathroom tub, no big screen TV. Looking around, we spotted a television in the far cor- door, we heard a creak from the front door. We shot each Talk about luxury.

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4/20/12 opinion 5

“Game Change” Portrays Palin Accurately

by Julia Hass

the film may have taken a few liberties for entertainments’ sake. More than having her seem uneducated on foreign policies and other basic political affairs, Palin was portrayed Everyone loves to hate Sarah Palin, and the newly released HBO film, Game Change, as someone who didn’t get a rudimentary high school education. provides a startling inside look at the logic behind putting Palin on the ticket and her efAt this point in the film, we have to ask, is this depiction of Sarah Palin a completely fect on the McCain campaign. accurate account? Game Change was based on a book written by political journalists The film opens with a 60 Minutes interview with McCain’s top campaign advisor who interviewed many people involved in the McCain-Palin campaign, including top Steve Schmidt (played by Woody Harreladvisors. Does this mean that we can comson) talking to Anderson Cooper about Palin. pletely trust all the occurrences portrayed in Schmidt ultimately admitted that if he had the this film? There are obviously elements of campaign to do again, he would choose not to this film that advisors couldn’t have known, have Palin on the ticket, and he cited the sole yet the producers portray it as the truth. reason behind the decision to have Palin in Both McCain and Palin have deemed the the vice presidential slot, saying, “We needed film “a completely false narrative,” though a game change.” both have chosen not to actually watch the And that they did. McCain had earned movie. However, a top aide to Palin during the Republican candidacy slot, yet was trailthe campaign, Nicolle Wallace (a Miramonte ing behind Obama in the polls, and if things alum as chance would be), called it, “True continued on in the same manner, McCain enough to make me squirm.” That being said, would definitely lose. McCain’s top advisors, since the campaign has terminated, Wallace including Schmidt, determined that one of the and Palin have been engaged in a rather pubmajor areas where McCain was lacking follic feud, so whether or not all Wallace has to lowers was amongst women. Their belief was say can be trusted isn’t certain. At this point that if McCain had a woman vice president, Palin supporters point out the fact that the the female demographic would be more likely people involved with the making of the film to vote for him. This assumption ultimately were almost all Democrats. As the Hollywood turned out to be completely false, as women Reporter stated, the top producers and talent seemed to find reasons to loathe Palin even in the film have collectively donated over more than men. $200,000 to the Democratic Party.

Photo: HBO With this reasoning in mind, McCain’s Though the representation of Palin was advisors set out to find him a female running Actress Julianne Moore stars as Sarah Palin in HBO’s Game Change, a harsh, I personally believe the film was at movie about Palin’s role in the 2008 election. The movie is based on a book mate. An advisor ultimately stumbled upon by the same name. least a fairly accurate representation of the triAlaskan governor Sarah Palin while watchals that were faced in the McCain-Palin caming YouTube clips of politicians speaking. An paign. attractive Republican woman, a well-liked governor of a state, and a proficient public As a political figure, Palin is pretty much fair game, and this depiction clearly states speaker (when discussing subjects she was comfortable with), Palin seemed like an ideal that Palin was completely unfit for office. Nevertheless, it must be said that Palin was choice. not portrayed as a bad person; she was shown as a loving mother and a nice woman, but In the campaign’s utter desperation for their “game change,” the vet for Palin was in general was simply not fit for a political position of any kind. Palin’s family was one rushed and not thorough, even lacking character witnesses. Everyone seemed to be blind- that did not seem to include the drama that the media portrayed them as having. In reality ed with awe, and did not see the flaws and gaps in knowledge that would become apparent they were simply a family that was dealing with the trials of having a child with Downs later on. syndrome and another that was pregnant at age 16, all while having a mother running for However, these flaws were not noticed immediately. It wasn’t until Schmidt asked Pal- vice-president of the nation. Considering the circumstances, the family seemed an ideal in a question about the head of British government and her answer incorrectly regarded one, with Palin successfully balancing her political life and duties as a mother and wife. the queen, instead of the prime minister, that he realized that Palin knew absolutely noth- However, this was the extent of any kindness awarded towards Palin in the film. ing of foreign policy or common domestic policies in which a political candidate should In contrast with the harsh portrayal of Palin in the film, Game Change was unbelievbe well-versed. ably kind to John McCain. Apart from swearing a concerning number of times, McCain’s That moment should have instilled a great fear in the viewers. To think of how close image was pristine. He was actually shown as a great candidate, who made an unfortunate this woman was to the White House, with little to no knowledge about anything concern- decision in the hopes of winning. ing politics, does not reflect well on our modern political system.

This representation of McCain cancels out the idea that the film was made by DemoAnd so began the education of Sarah Palin to fill the vast holes in her knowledge. This crats in an attempt to trash the Republican Party. Even if the extent of Palin’s lack of shockingly included teaching her who the antagonists of the World Wars were, and why knowledge was exaggerated, it must have been based on something. Overall the film was North and South Korea are separate countries. However, here is where the producers of a fair illustration of the truth.

Documentary Reveals Truth About School Bullying

by Tamar McCollom

Bowling for Columbine, the infamous Michael Moore documentary on the Columbine shooting, argued that America’s obsession with violence was beginning to seep into the youth culture. Ten years later, it’s Bully, the new wrenching and eye-opening documentary, that again puts violent and hateful juvenile behavior centerstage, exposing the epidemic of bullying in schools.

Bullying is often forgotten or dismissed, and is virtually never mentioned as a major concern in American society.

This is partially due to the fact that bullying is considered part of growing up. Bullying, while unfortunate, is not perceived as threatening. For the most part, kids are told to just tough it out.

Bully proves bullying is a much more complex and dire issue than conventional logic suggests. Bullying is more dangerous than most people know and a problem for which there is no quick fix.

Bully follows five families in America’s heartland who have been affected by school bullying. Two of the families are still grieving the recent suicides of their young sons, while the other three families each have a child that still endures both verbal and physical abuse each day at school.

Alex, a sweet-yet-awkward 12-year-old from Sioux City, serves as the main protagonist. Bully shows him get stabbed, punched, strangled, and beaten every day.

What Alex experiences each day isn’t merely teasing, although he deals with that, as well. As any viewer with

aconscience can attest, Alex is forced to live through unbearable circumstances that far exceed the mild, traditional definition of bullying. What Alex and many of the other 13 million children who are bullied each year experience is far more akin to full-on hate crimes than schoolyard roughhousing.

Quite literally all of the families featured in Bully lived in conservative, Southern or Midwestern states. These children have grown up in an environment where they are taught to hate others because of their race, religion, or sexual orientation. The fact that these children are born into a culture that espouses vitriolic hatred of anyone who is different no doubt amplifies the bullying problem.

But what Bully clearly shows is that since there is no obvious code for identifying and addressing bullying, finding a solution to protect these kids is virtually impossible.

There is both a failure to communicate and a failure to act, and this has led school administrators to fail to properly punish juvenile bullies.

Perhaps the fundamental difficulty in addressing school bullying is identifying it in the first place. The last thing a child that is being humiliated and victimized every day is going to do is admit that they are being humiliated and victimized every day. It’s easier to quietly carry the burden and save face instead of admitting there’s a problem and asking for help. In the South in particular, a young boy is almost never going to freely admit a weakness to his father.

And in some cases, children don’t know they need to

ask for help. In Bully, Alex is so used to being abused that he doesn’t fully comprehend that what his peers are doing to him is entirely wrong. He doesn’t understand the cruelty he’s being exposed to because he doesn’t know anything else. Since Alex has no real friends, he needs his mom to explain to him that these children who are torturing him are not his friends. His father has to explain to him that getting strangled is not just “messing around.”

Ultimately, school administrators need to be the ones to put an end to school bullying. Administrators are the ones who spend the most time with the children. They are the ones who are supposed to be trained in identifying and disciplining students with behavioral issues. They are supposed to be the unbiased mediators of tensions. Yet, throughout Bully, it was the school administrators who continually let their students down by either ignoring the problem or mishandling it. One administrator ended up chastising the victim for refusing to shake hands with a boy that had been beating him up daily.

This type of negligence on the part of school administrators cannot continue. At some point, the school needs to accept responsibility for protecting their students.

In the wake of Bully’s debut, there needs to be a systematic change in the way that schools handle bullying.

Administrators need to stop shying away from liability and accept responsibility for maintaining a safe learning environment. The solution to bullying might not be clearcut, but nothing will change if everyone continues to turn a blind eye and avoid getting their hands dirty.

Mirador

6 Opinion 4/20/12

Kony 2012: Empowering or Overhyped?

On March 5, the non-profit organization Invisible Children launched a 30-minute video-ad encouraging global citizens to make African warlord Joseph Kony famous, and bring him to justice. After millions of views and countless mentions on Facebook, the Kony 2012 campaign saw its first threads of controversy. As several facts came to light, the critics and supporters of Kony 2012 campaign were equally divided.

CON:

PRO:

by Maya Sherne

Photo: M. Swan

Watch and feel moved. Feel empowered. Feel proud. Repost. Retweet. Like. Blog.

Email. Spread the link. Save the world. Millions of people did just this. Step by step.

View by view. Kony 2012 is changing a generation and reaffirming the endless potential of social media activism.

On March 5, Invisible Children, an organization dedicated to securing the futures of children in Northern Uganda, launched a 30-minute video to promote their “Stop Kony” campaign, a movement to capture war criminal Joseph Kony and bring him to justice.

The Kony 2012 video inspires young people to help others― a big step in overcoming the selfish values of our generation.

Eighty-six million people now know that evil exists outside fairytales and history books. Inhumanity has occurred since the beginning of time and continues to happen; the differences that the Kony campaign is making is that now, young people are motivated to change it.

For my generation, this video is groundbreaking. It captures and engages its viewers’ attention. I am aware that the video oversimplifies and distorts facts in order to make a more intriguing and powerful video, but at a time when students care about little outside their own small world, I think we should all agree that it is amazing.

Any way a person develops a greater understanding of the world is beneficial, even if it is forged by a YouTube video and spread by Facebook. Regardless of a person’s misinterpretation or jump at the chance to be a part of the next social bandwagon, awareness remains better than ignorance.

Everyone has things going on; we rush from place to place, planning ahead and missing out on simple things that pass us by. Invisible Children recognized that although people don’t have time to devote to studying the world’s atrocities, they have time to watch a video and forward a link.

That kind of social media reached millions of people. Although most disregarded the video after a few days, a select few took it as an opportunity to further educate themselves.

New social media tools have opened the door to a more promising future for online social activism. Social media enables the powerless to coordinate, collaborate, and create a unified voice. Kony 2012 demonstrated the impact social media can have, especially on youth, and a person’s ability to use this “tool” to advance important causes.

There are many criticisms of the Kony 2012 campaign. First, the video is intentionally “dumbed down” for its viewers, simplifying and dramatizing the facts in order to appeal to a larger audience. But most news organizations do this too, so should we bash them as well? In all honesty, I’m not concerned with how Invisible Children operates. Not because I agree with corrupt organizations, but because I do not believe the organization’s money is their greatest contribution to global change.

Advocacy is the organization’s primary objective. Their mission is to advocate and inspire America’s youth to “do more than just watch,” in order to give a voice to those who aren’t heard, and to make the invisible visible.

If activists are able to combine the outreach of social media with the power of inperson dialogue, our generation will be able to create the greatest changes.

In this day and age, few see students protesting at college rallies, or marching in front of political buildings. Social media has enabled people to “make change” from the comfort of their home. Although the Kony campaign started online and was viewed by the individual, it called for national rallies and protests in hopes of reviving our nation’s declining physical presence of outrage.

People feel a false sense of fulfillment by simply tweeting about a global crisis, but as much as I believe that one person can make a difference, physical action needs to be taken in order to make positive change. Posting a link is not enough; change only comes when awareness develops into action. Take action, and action will happen.

by Kelsi Lerner

Photo: M. Swan

Let me preface this argument by saying that if any of you invite me to the “Cover the Night” event or any variation of it one more time I swear to God I will unfriend each and every one of you on Facebook... okay, that’s not true, because then I wouldn’t have any friends.

I have several problems with Invisible Children, all of which tie back to the organization being a huge phony. Now, I’m not trying to release my inner Holden Caulfield on you, but let’s get real for a second: out of the blue, an organization releases a beautifully edited piece of propaganda about a cause that seems suspiciously dated, and suddenly a bunch of sheltered white kids are interested in African politics and are showing their support by buying bracelets.... bracelets.

Despite what Invisible Children might have you believe, Joseph Kony and his child soldiers aren’t a new thing. The height of Kony’s career in terrorism was in the late 80s and early 90s in Uganda. Currently, Kony isn’t even in Uganda. In fact, Kony recently had to flee the Democratic Republic of Congo to the neighbouring Central African Republic, and according to New Vision (Uganda’s leading daily news source), Kony isn’t even a threat anymore. At this point, his modest goals include staying alive. Sure, in 2005 the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant, but this is the ICC. They’re known for being a bit delayed.

It’s not that Kony isn’t a bad guy― he did imprison children and force them to fight for him, after all― it’s just that there are a lot of other issues that are of far greater importance at this point in time. If you really want to focus on issues in Africa, why not the over 9 million refugees and internally displaced people from conflicts and civil wars?

Still, even if Invisible Children’s cause were something more relevant, the organization doesn’t actually do anything. Invisible Children Director of Ideology Jedidiah Jenkins is quoted as saying, “The truth about Invisible Children is that we are not an aid organization, and we don’t intend to be. I think people think we’re over there delivering shoes or food.

But we are an advocacy and awareness organization.”

Organizations whose goal is “spreading awareness” should always be looked upon with a critical eye, and Invisible Children is no exception.

Viral propaganda like the Kony 2012 video is a great way to spread a message—it’s just that in this case, the message is to donate money to an organization so they can make more videos. Posting the video on your Facebook wall doesn’t actually do anything, nor does “liking” someone’s status about it. The whole business with Kony and the LRA was horribly tragic and something that we should definitely be aware of so history doesn’t repeat, but posting about it on Facebook doesn’t bring someone’s family back together.

Invisible Children as an organization supports sending military aid to Uganda. The Kony 2012 campaign donates money to the ever controversial Ugandan military (despite Kony still not being in Uganda), and many American supporters are for sending US troops as well. This is actually pretty ironic, considering that (despite what the bi-partisan logo will have you believe) generally those in support of the Kony 2012 campaign are very young and very liberal. These people openly criticize our wars in the Middle East, but then turn around and demand we send U.S. troops to Uganda for a cause to which the United States has no ties.

So, while it’s great that teenagers are getting excited about African politics (despite the fact that most of them are only vaguely aware of politics in their own country), they seem to be a bit misinformed. The Kony 2012 video is an ad, and its product is hope. The video shows the horrors that these people went through and uses your basic sense of human decency to get you to spend money. The problem is that people rarely look into causes like this to evaluate their legitimacy, and now we have a bunch of ignorant teenagers spreading the video along like wildfire thinking they’re making a difference. Well calm down, sheeple, because you’re not.

Administration Must Change Suspension Policies

by Reese Levine Recently, several members of a Miramonte sports team were caught drinking off-campus. While underage drinking is obviously illegal, the real issue here is the administration’s response. If they want to send a strong message that drinking will not be tolerated, tougher punishments must be handed down.

After a delay, the drinking incident came to the attention of the administration. Miramonte’s Athletic Suspension policies state that if a student involved in athletics is found using alcohol, the consequences will be “the loss of privilege to participate in athletic activities for 45 school days.”

In this case, the administration declined to follow their own guidelines, and the involved players were allowed to return to school-related athletic activities after a short sus-

pension. However, a possible explanation for this can be found in the school’s policies.

The handbook states that if any infractions of the rules occur outside of school activity, the athletes “may be suspended and removed from any team activity.” This ambiguity could be used as a basis to not suspend athletes who were caught outside of school activities. Also, any athletes violating the policy for the first time are given opportunites through intervention plans to reduce the suspension.

The problem with these loopholes is that they send a weak message to offenders. Student athletes need to understand that just because they play sports for the school they are not exempt from rules and regulations that govern the rest of the student body. In fact, they should have a higher regard for upholding the rules, as they are highly visible when representing the school in competiton.

While the administration does promote many activities

and courses that discourage students from abusing alcohol and other illegal substances, in some cases, preventitive measures are not enough. The only way to stop these situations from happening again is to hand down strong punishments.

When an athlete realizes that they will not be severely punished even if they abuse a substance, they will continue to abuse said substance.

It is almost more important for first-time offenders to be punished, as they are the ones who have a better chance of not repeating the same offense because they see the consequences.

Sometimes when talking about teenage drinking, it is hard to move past the immorality and illegality of the acts, but the first step in doing so is for the administration to set up specific, unambiguous guidelines to follow when dealing with the issue.

Mirador

4/20/12 Opinion 7

Virus Research Dangerous But Important Recent research conducted on the H1N1 Avian Flu virus has raised serious concerns about the risks of virological studies and the publishing of findings for the scientific community

by Katie Hoskins

and contagious before research even had a chance to begin.

In 1917, the deadliest outbreak of a flu viIf we allow research to continue despite the rus plagued the globe, killing over 50 million risk of the virus escaping, we will have more people in a matter of months. The Spanish-flu information about the nature of the virus itepidemic still holds the spot for causing the self: how it specifically infects people, how it most deaths due to influenza with a mortality is transferred, and how we can fight it off are rate between 2 and 3 percent. all questions that can potentially be answered.

However, now scientists have found a posThen, if and when the virus evolves in nature sibly even more destructive, terrifying virus, to be contagious to humans, we will be ready with the capacity to kill 59 percent of the peoto put up a fight. ple it infects. Currently research on the virus But scientific research is not a one-man has been placed under a moratorium for two battle. While Fouchier did contribute a major months. However, despite the risks, explorabreakthrough to the field of H1N1 virology, tion of the virus must continue to ensure that he hasn’t solved the entire puzzle and will we are prepared in the event of a viral panneed other scientists’ contributions to confirm demic. Furthermore, such findings must be and expand his findings. If his results are not Photo: O. Douliery/MCT published to allow the scientific community published and made available to the scientific In 2009 George Washington University held an event where students under to collaborate and better understand the pocommunity, progress will be stifled and we the age of 24 received the latest H1N1 vaccine. tentially devastating organism. will not be able to fight a pandemic.

Since 1997, the H5N1 avian flu virus has Some critics are concerned that bioterinfected 587 people in five different countries, rorists across the globe could use Fouchier’s to humans all over the world. And so far, that outcome is killing 339. The good news is that at this point, it can’t be death. published research to recreate the mutant virus and launch transmitted through the air from person to person, like the If the mutated highly contagious virus ever escaped a massive terrorist attack on the globe. This recreation seasonal flu. The only way to be infected is to come into from the high security lab, an epidemic of massive pro- would be fairly easy for anyone with access to a lab, chemdirect contact with infected birds, which at this point don’t portions could begin, killing the majority of the world’s icals, and a small amount of money. live in the United States.

However, even if a popular and trusted scientific jourpopulation. This fear isn’t only for Hollywood in movies There are three conditions a virus must meet in order like Contagion. It could very well become a reality if the nal like Nature hadn’t published Fouchier’s personal findto trigger a pandemic: humans must have no previously virus isn’t handled properly by scientists in high-security ings, someone somewhere would definitely perform the established immunity so that the immune system doesn’t labs. Outbreaks of viruses that are worked on under such same research and post it somewhere on the Internet. From know exactly how to combat the intruders, it must infect high security are rare but not unheard of, and the escape of there, anyone can access it and make the virus. In fact, it’s and kill humans, and it must spread easily from human to H5N1 is a very real possibility. been done before. In 2002, a man at Stony Brook Univerhuman. H5N1 meets the first two criteria, but not the third.

However, research like Fouchier’s is necessary and sity created a fully functional polio virus from DNA fragScientific research could change all that. can’t be postponed or stopped because of the possible con- ments he got through the Internet.

Recently, at the annual meeting of the European Sci- sequences. Labs like Fouchier’s use deadly viruses to test Either way, anyone will probably be able to recreate the entific Working Group on Influenza in Malta, virologist possible treatments and vaccines as a precaution in case virus in the future whether we like it or not. But viruses Ron Fouchier announced he had made an astonishing and a contagious mutant ever occurred in nature. If such re- are hard to specifically control and a bioterrorist attack usterrifying breakthrough regarding H5N1. In his lab in Rot- search is suspended just because there is a risk that it could ing the H5N1 virus would be pretty much impossible to terdam, Fouchier successfully mutated the virus so it can escape, we will lose our ability to even attempt to fight an target to a specific group. So, it’s really only a possibility quickly transmit through the air. The new, highly conta- epidemic. that anyone will even want to use the virus for malevolent gious mutant was tested on ferrets that were divided by Viruses can also travel insanely quickly. In 2009, health purposes should the information on how to manufacture it physical barriers. Since the animals had no direct contact, officials weren’t even aware of the existence of the swine be released to the public. the viruses must have traveled through the air and entered flu virus until it had spread across the globe. In nature, In nature however, the virus will definitely become their bodies through respiratory tracts. viruses are constantly evolving as they encounter new transmissable to the same degree as Fouchier’s. We can’t Some may be temped to adopt the “so what they’re treatments and immunities, and these new strains can be be sure when or where the H5N1 virus will become conjust ferrets” attitude. But ferrets actually have a respira- created relativly undetected. If scientists were equally as tagious to humans, but we have to be ready. And without tory system very similar to that of humans, so whatever caught off guard by avian flu as they were by that of the research like Fouchier’s, we have no hope of anticipating happens to the ferrets in the lab could potentially happen swine flu, most of the world would perish or be infected such a catastrophe.

Gas Prices: Still Not Politics Need a quick study

by Kelsi Lerner

The gas prices are too damn high.

As all American citizens know: gas prices are rising higher and higher. As a high school student with a car and a $20 allowance, if gas prices get any higher, I will actually have to sell a kidney. Or, you know, get a job or whatever.

The steady climb in gas prices has motivated more people to buy environmentally stable cars like Priuses.

However, for those of us that d o n ’ t want to look like hippies, Priuses are not an option. After all, the Prius practically comes with Obama/Biden stickers pre-attached, and for some of us, this is simply not feasible.

Even with the Prius’s expensive price tag, cheaper options are becoming available. Still, people seem to oppose switching over to greener energy, and would rather fix our gas prices instead. Of all our options, though, why focus just on lowering gas prices? As it turns out, people still totally think that a presidential candidate alone can control gas prices.

In late February, when Newty announced he was going to get gas prices down to $2.50, the crowd stilled, Rick Santorum cried, and Mitt Romney facepalmed. Even though this was just a ploy to get American voters to start caring about him again, the

“

idea that Newt Gingrich could control gas prices was hopeful to some, and totally ridiculous to others.

All in all, the gas prices debate is just one huge blame game. On one hand, we have Republicans blaming the high gas prices on Obama. And on the other hand, we have Democrats blaming the gas prices on Bush while continuously defending Obama’s inability to control the prices. Basically, nobody takes into account the things that really matter, like the world market or OPEC. We ’ v e seen this earlier in the election, also.

W h e n Michelle Bachman came onto the scene with promises of gas prices down to $2.00 per gallon, the other candidates mocked her. Even Ron Paul joked that he could get gas prices down to a dime... a silver dime that is, a callback to his “hard money” policy.

So why is it that now gas prices are becoming an actual issue? Desperation is setting in, as people want to believe that their candidate can control how much they spend at the pump. The sad reality is that we’re probably going to have to suck it up and invest in cleaner energy. No single person or political party can control gas prices, but we can stop our reliance on gas altogether. The only way to fix our gas crisis is through greener energy, not election time semantics and propaganda.

As it turns out, people still totally think that a presidential candidate alone can control gas prices.

”

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Mirador

Feature

8 Feature 4/20/12

There’s No Place

by Sophia Bollag

Like Home

Once you enter the prominent, modern-looking front gate of the house at 6 Great Oaks Circle in Orinda, it is difficult to tell which side of the house is facing you. The white cinderblock walls are low to the ground, lacking the grandeur one would expect from a front entryway, and although the windows on this side are large, they are dark and therefore uninformative. If you are not familiar with the house, it can feel very intimidating to be so disoriented. However, if you know where to go, the house, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1948, will usher you in with unexpected hospitality.

Just to the right of the garage, a long covered walkway, flanked by bushes on one side and long, horizontal redwood panels on the other, guides you to the door. The panels on the outside of the house echo the long parallel lines that continue through the interior.

“Everything in this property is horizontal,” trustee Robert Ray said. “Everything.

There is hardly anything round in this house.”

The horizontal panels continue through the front entryway, down the narrow hall on the left, which runs through the wing with the bedrooms. To the right, the panels draw you into a large, bright living room with huge windows and a gold leaf ceiling.

“The living room is probably the most awesome part of the house,” Ray said. “Everyone who comes through marvels at it.”

Although the house was inhabited by the Buehler family, who commissioned it for more than 50 years, lately, most people who have come through the living room have been prospective buyers.

The house has been on the market since September of last year, following the deaths of Maynard and Katherine Buehler, in 2005 and 2010, respectively. It is for sale by Todd and Gretchen Scheid of Alain Pinel Realtors and is listed at an asking price of just under $5 million. Despite the fact that the house has been on the market for months, no bids have been placed. Ray said this was not unusual because a house designed by Wright takes, on average, two years to sell.

Photo: T. Scheid

At this point, Ray said he thought the house would be purchased by a private buyer.

“That’s our first hope,” he said. “Most of the people who have come through actually want to live in it.”

If a new family moves into the house, it will be the first family other than the Buehlers to live there.

Maynard Buehler, who made his fortune designing scope mounts for rifles, decided to have a house built in Orinda in the 40s. The way Ray described it, Buehler and his wife, Katherine, chose Wright as the architect almost by chance.

“Katherine was looking through an architectural magazine and said, ‘Gee, I’d like to have a house like that,’” Ray said.

The Buehlers sent Wright a request, but did not receive an immediate reply, Ray said.

Months later they got a call from Wright, in which he introduced himself: “This is your architect.”

The house was built over the course of two years, from 1948 to 1949, and was rebuilt in 1994 after a fire destroyed most of the original construction. Ray, who was Maynard’s business partner had retired, himself, two weeks before the fire. He had been traveling, but when he received the news he returned the next day.

“I was sort of the son they never had,” he said.

Since then, Ray has devoted much of his time to maintaining the property and taking care of the Buehlers in their old age. While he was making renovations to different aspects of the property, such as installing the gate and commissioning the reconstruction of the bridges on the grounds, he assured Katherine that despite the renovations, the house would not be sold during her lifetime.

“You never have to leave your house,” Ray said. “I kept telling her that.”

Above: The living room, which features a gold leaf ceiling and furniture designed

by Frank Lloyd Wright, himself, is the focal point of the Buehler House.

Choosing a College: The Real “Indecision 2012”

by Tamar McCollom and Megan Freeman

Congratulations! You’ve been accepted to college.

You’re a star, a winner, in fact. You are the chosen one.

Pop some Martinelli’s and celebrate. You deserve it.

What’s that you say? You have no idea which of the stellar educational institutions is right for you? You have no clue which exalted school you should select above all others? Well, have no fear. We’ve been there, and we have some time-tested tests to help you choose which school you should attend.

1. The Pick-a-Narwhal Test Bear with us. The Pick-a-Narwhal Test might sound unorthodox (it is), but it is our most effective method, yet.

Essentially, have your friends draw or find pictures of different narwhals. Then, have them assign a different school to each narwhal picture without telling you which is which.

Then, you have to pick a narwhal. Of course, you have no idea which school each narwhal represents, so you don’t know which school you have selected. Then, have your friends reveal to you which school your chosen narwhal represents. What is your immediate internal reaction? Did

you just think, “Dang, that wasn’t the school I was rooting for?” or did you just breathe a sigh of relief? Trust your immediate reaction. If you weren’t enthused about your narwhal, that’s a good sign that you aren’t enthused about that school. If you were excited about the results, then you have chosen the school.

2. Go scream outside.

Go outside, preferably directly outside your front door, and scream this: “MY NAME IS (INSERT YOUR FULL NAME), AND I GO TO (INSERT SCHOOL NAME HERE)!”

Scream this for each of the contenders. Which one felt the best? Did you feel more strongly about one? Did you feel more proud saying one? Did one just sound better or more natural? Did you scream louder for one? All of these are good signs that you have a favorite school.

3. Compare mascots, and decide which would win in a battle.

4. Go with your gut.

Let’s face it: it’s April 20. You have a little more than a

Graphic: M. Freeman

These narwhals want to help you choose a school.

week to decide which school to go to, and the three ideas above are probably only making you more concerned. But don’t panic. You can stress over every minute detail of the schools, you can make charts, matrices, and lists, but at the end of the day, you really just have to go with what feels right. Yes, it’s a cliché, but it’s a good one. Trust your instincts. No matter which school you choose, you’re going to get a fine education and have a good time. And if you get to college and you find you’re not happy, apply to transfer! Nothing is set in stone.

Mirador

4/20/12 Feature 9

Scouts Enrich the Bay Area Community

by Karmi Chan

and distributed them to the community.

Scouting award traditions reWith aid from her church, main prominent at Miramonte and through movie nights and High School. Through dedication other community functions, and hard work, several students MacDuff educated people about have received the greatest pospediatric cancer. The communisible honor in scouting: the Eagle ty played a huge role in helping Award for boys and its equivaMacDuff obtain her award. lent for girls, the Gold Award.

“It was really cool to see all Many students have been inthe support in my community,” volved in scouting since kinderMacDuff said. “People are so garten, including junior Drew willing to give.”

Holland and senior Selena MacDuff also hand-made apMacDuff who both recently reproximately 175 fleece blankets ceived these awards. that she donated to the ChilPhotos: D. Holland (left), S. MacDuff (right) Holland has been a Boy Scout dren’s Hospital in Oakland. since sixth grade and was a Cub Left: Charlie Wiser, Tyler Kirchberg, Drew Holland, Tanner Cullen, and Jason Lammert receive their MacDuff wanted to donate Eagle Awards. Right: Senior Selena MacDuff drops off her hand-knitted blankets at the Children’s Scout previously. This past year the blankets because she found Hospital in Oakland. he worked tirelessly to obtain his that the children at the hospital Eagle Award. Holland completed an Eagle Scout Project The overall scouting experience has been a blast for took comfort in having them. along with a service project, earned merit badges, and par- Holland. He enjoyed spending time with his troop backWhen choosing her project MacDuff was inspired by ticipated in outdoor adventures. Holland said he enjoyed packing in the Sierra Nevadas, river rafting, and camping. one of her friend’s experiences with leukemia. Her friend every step of the long process. found comfort in her stay at the hospital when someThe process taught him valuable life lessons.

The main part of the Eagle Award is the community “I learned tons about the outdoors and gathered a lot of one brought a wagon full of blankets to her ward, and service project. Holland picked fruit off trees in the Happy life skills,” Holland said.

MacDuff wanted to bring this contentment to others and Valley area and donated this fruit to the food bank. He MacDuff spent last summer working towards her Gold make a lasting impact on the patients’ lives. conserved fruit that would normally fall to the ground and Award, putting in roughly 150 hours over three months on Both MacDuff and Holland said they thoroughly enrot, since many of the homeowners didn’t use the fruit a project that will have a lasting effect on the community. joyed their projects. on their trees. In the end, Holland donated about 1800 “The experience was blast,” Holland said. “I gained so Her project raised awareness about the effects of pedipounds of fruit to the Contra Costa Food Bank. atric cancer. She created and distributed about 300 flyers much life experience through the process.”

Mirador Unveils the Secret Lives of MHS Parents

by Kate Wolffe

Arun Majumdar

AKA: “Our Environment’s Voice”

Jo Ann Good

AKA: “Mama Good” The Facts: With her work at the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, Mama Good is quite literally, good. Besides this, her daughter Hillary describes her as “freakishly insightful,” as she is fascinated by Zen philosophy and is an indie-movie maniac.

“We'll go to indie movies at the Californian or something and the whole audience will reek of hipster stench and everyone will be wearing beanies and Ray-Ban prescription glasses, and there will be Mama Good in all her Chanel 5 glory, looking classy as usual in her Ralph Lauren cashmere ensembles,” Hillary said. Also a fan of House, Mama Good believes that she and Hugh Laurie are destined to be together because his wife's name is Jo and he has three daughters, just like her! Now the go-to personal shopper for the Good family and a full-time mother of the Goods’ beloved bichon Chloe. Mama Good’s only pitfall is that she doesn't understand humor that isn't British.

The Kid: Hillary Good Hillary’s Opinion: “She's never climbed Everest, but she does put flower petals in our salads and always has a reason to be overdressed. We're classy broads, and we're okay with that. She also has flown to London for a weekend. All in all, coolest parent ever.”

Right: Mama Good shows off a giant lobster.

The Facts: Dr. Majumdar may not work in the White House, but he certainly has a heavy hand in the decisions made there. After an incredible career as both Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at UC Berkeley, Majumdar recently moved into a crucially important position. In late November of last year, President Obama nominated Dr. Majumdar to be Undersecretary of Energy, a vital position for our nation, especially considering the energy crisis we are faced with today. Working at the Department of Energy, Majumdar receives proposals for projects for renewable sources of energy and decides whether they can be funded or not. He then reports to the Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. Majumdar is also the first Director of the ARPA-E, the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy, the country's only agency devoted to transformational energy research and development. Widely recognized as a leader in the field of nanostructured materials used in energy conversion, transport, and storage, Majumdar is the hand behind many of the technical innovations and research that is changing our world.

The Kid: Anjali Majumdar

Anjali’s Opinion: “My dad is awesome because he gets to meet all sorts of famous people: movie stars, sports stars, and political celebrities. He's gone to many formal events, including the State Dinner for the prime minister of the UK. There he met the President of the United States, Hillary Clinton, Rory Mcilroy, and many other famous people! In addition, he has been to the Oval Office! I’M SO JEALOUS!”

Photo: H. Good

Jennifer Vigo

AKA: “The Businesswo-mom”

The Facts: After unfruitful years of seeking clothing that was both practical, fashionable, and convenient for her three daughters, Mrs. Vigo took matters into her own hands and this year opened Orinda’s very own vintage and consignment shop, ReChic Boutique 101. Located at 101 Orinda Way, ReChic provides teenagers with a place to meet up and hang out with friends while shopping for clothing or home goods. It’s a place to call their own that’s also fun and fashionable. “I thought the consignment part could be a great way for everyone to recycle plus earn money for themselves,” said Vigo. Thanks to this awesome mom, all teenagers can find t h e clothes they want without having to leave our sleepy little town.

The Kid: Natalie Vigo

Natalie’s Opinion: “My mom is awesome because she is crazy, fun, loving and totally young at heart. She can get anything done and do it well. She definitely tries to ‘fit in with the girls’ and I love her for it.”

Lorree and Mark Swinton

AKA: “The Power Couple”

The Facts: Mrs. Swinton is a badass. A black belt in martial arts, Mrs. Swinton recently received second place in the 2012 U.S. Open Taekwondo Championships. But there’s more to her besides her work at the Lamorinda Martial Arts Studio. A super-fan of Twilight, Swinton adores the book series so much that she attended the premiere alone when none of her five children opted to go with her. Additionally, she believes herself to be a half-reborn Asian because sometimes she reads magazines back to front, and she goes to McDonald’s everyday to get a large Diet Coke because “they mix it the best.” Mr. Swinton on the other hand... is also a badass. In 2010 he competed in the Mr. California contest, coming in third. He can bench press around 365 pounds and aspires to be a lower-calf model. As if this wasn’t cool enough, he also gets a standing ovation each time he sings karaoke.

The Kids: Meg and Sam Swinton Sam’s Opinion: “The rest of the school should be thankful they don’t have a black belt and body builder enforcing their curfews” Left: Loree Swinton breaks a cement block in half with her bare hand.

Right: Mark Swinton shows off his beautiully toned calves.

Photos: S. Swinton

10 Feature 4/20/12

Senior Experience Projects: Insider Perspectives Mirador

by Karmi Chan and Julia Govan

Miramonte seniors have the choice of taking traditional English 5, AP English, or the unique WISE class. WISE, or Wise Individualized Senior Experience, gives students the opportunity to work outside of the classroom on a project of their own personal interest. WISE students spend their first semester in an accelerated senior English class and begin their projects second semester. The final requirement for every student who chooses WISE is an end-of-the-year presentation in front of several teachers and advisors. Mirador caught up with four seniors who chose the WISE route.

Wesley Lau Engineering Mirador: Why did you choose WISE? Wesley Lau: It was a pretty easy decision. I’ve never been good at English, and I like working on my own. I get to create my own syllabus and do what I enjoy!

M: Why engineering?

WL: I want to go into civil engineering. I plan on continuing my passion for it at MIT next fall.

M: Mentor?

WL: Ms. Schneider M: Work you have to do for WISE? WL: Five hours a week dedicated to third space. One-thousand words every week.

M: Where?

WL: The engineering department at the City of Oakland M: How often?

WL: Every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Belinda Yan Belly Dancing

M: How did you find your third space?

WL: I had to do a lot of contacting and be persistent throughout first semester. My uncle works at the City of Oakland and found that they were offering an internship at the transportation department.

M: Experience so far?

WL: I definitely enjoy it. You get a lot of life experience. In a classroom, you don’t get much of a workplace experience. You won’t be reading novels everyday in real life.

M: What is it like?

WL: You actually get to do something. I help re-strip streets and set parking time limits. I’m looking forward to working with construction workers.

M: WISE project end of the year presentation?

WL: Probably some sort of PowerPoint.

M: Funny/Weird Experiences?

WL: I got off at 12th Street one time and encountered occupy protestors. It was pretty scary!

M: How often?

BY: Twice a week. Two classes each time. You pay $100 up front for two months and can go as often as you want.

M: Experience so far?

BY: It’s been fun. I’m definitely learning and progressing. I love going; it’s like an outlet for stress. It’s just another form of exercise.

M: What is it like?

BY: There are no guys allowed. The teacher is a 60-year-old woman, so she doesn’t wear two piece outfits anymore, but there are pictures of her all over the studio. Most people just wear comfortable clothing like sweats, and our bellies for the most part aren’t exposed. I’m by far the youngest there. It’s mostly middle-aged women.

M: How did you find your third space?

BY: I went online and just searched belly dancing and found the closest place. It was simple.

M: WISE project end of year presentation?

BY: I will eventually perform for the WISE project, and I probably will buy one of the traditional costumes to wear, which is normally a colorful outfit with silver “coins” on the skirts that make the jingling sound when you shimmy.

M: Why belly dancing?

BY: I’ve always wanted to dance, but I can’t do ballet. I wanted to try something different.

M: Funny/Weird experience?

BY: We were twirling scarves one day in class and I didn’t realize how long the scarf was, so I tripped and fell on my a** in front of the whole class. It was pretty embarrassing.

We also use finger symbols, and whenever we’re moving our arms around and spinning people, we constantly lose them and hit each other. The symbols fly across the room.

M: Mentor?

BY: Mrs. Peterson. I meet with her every week.

Nick Read Auto Repair

Photo: B. Yan

Belinda Yan wears her belly dancing costume, complete with a coin skirt and finger symbols.

Mirador: Why did you choose WISE? Nick Read: To get out of English. It’s a chance to do something fun second semester and it keeps you on your game.

M: Why auto-repair?

NR: I’ve always liked cars, and I wanted a chance to learn how to work on them.

M: Mentor?

NR: Ms. Aracic.

M: Where?

NR: In Oakland at an auto repair shop called Torchio’s.

M: How often?

NR: Four hours every Tuesday and Thursday.

M: How did you find your third space?

NR: Ms. Aracic helped me by recommending Torchio’s.

M: Work you have to do for WISE?

Photo: W. Lau

Wesley Lau sits at his desk in the Oakland engineering department.

M: Where?

BY: Walnut Creek Bellydance!

Mirador: Why did you choose WISE? Belinda Yan: I wanted to expand my knowledge of a different culture. My goal in life is to end up doing something I love, so I don’t hate going to work everyday. I love all performing arts, so it was an easy choice!

M: Work you have to do for WISE? BY: I write 1,000 words a week and an additional prompt once every two to three weeks.

M: Do you recommend WISE? WL: Yes! It gives you a much more hands-on learning experience. You’re not just sitting in a classroom. During senior year, most just aren’t as motivated to sit in English. It also prepares you for the actual work world and life.

M: Do you recommend WISE? BY: Most definitely. I recommend it to everyone. It’s extremely fun, and you get to experience something new and devote yourself to something you love. I found a passion for belly dancing because of my project. I really want to continue belly dancing as a hobby.

WISE is a great experience, and I’m glad I decided to take the class. Plus, you don’t have to go to class 6th period second semester.

NR: I write 1,000 words a week in a journal and turn in the journal every two weeks.

At the end, the public can read everything I’ve written, so I have to consider that while writing.

M: Experience so far?

NR: It’s fun and awesome, and it seemed like a good opportunity. It’s a way to keep me interested as a second semester senior.

M: What is it like?

NR: There’s only one guy who speaks English fluently. The rest are all Mexican and Asian. You’re always scared you’re going to break something. I work on people’s cars, so it’s really nerve-wracking and I’m worried I’ll mess something up. A lot of the times I work on oil and tire changes alone.

The bigger projects, such as removing a water pump, take a lot of work because you need to move other objects out of the way. There’s a lot of pressure to do everything right.

bolt to let all the oil out of the car. But the bolt kept spinning and wouldn’t come out and all the other workers were screaming, “What did you do?!” But it turns out it was all a big joke and there was already something wrong with the car even before I started working on it. It just shows how little experience I had with cars.

M: Do you recommend WISE? NR: If you have anything you’re interested in, you should pursue it. You might as well try and give it your best shot.

M: WISE project end of the year presentation?

NR: Honestly, I try not to think about it.

M: Funny/embarrassing experience?

NR: I went to do an oil change, and you have to unscrew a

Photo: M.McClain/MCT

A mechanic lays under a car to perform an oil change.

Mirador

4/20/12 Feature 11

MHS Musical Talents Lay Down the Beat

by Cassidy Waters and Natalie Condon

back to Orinda to run it,” Kaplan said.

Soso has many musical talents. In addition to beMiramonte High School, recognized for its academic ing a part of the school choir, he beat boxes, plays the prestige and competitive sports teams, also produces a guitar, and DJs. His musical interest arose in seventh large variety of musicians. From rappers to beat boxers grade when his friends decided to start a heavy metal to DJs, Miramonte has them all. Some of the most recog- band. nized artists are seniors Jack Houston, Hank Kaplan, and “That’s when I learned how to play the bass,” Soso Carter Soso, and juniors Matt Cobley, Mohsen Brown, and said. “But it wasn’t that useful in the group because we Gaelen Faulkner. were horrible.”

Houston started his music career The bands that helped in seventh grade after being inspired shape his musical range are by the Wu Tang Clan. Houston cre10ft. Ganja Plant and Deadates electronic music and wants to mau5. Soso’s career has excontinue his music career in the fuceeded his own expectations. ture.

This past month he placed “I hope I can play shows in front fourth out of 16,000 particiPhoto: C. Waters of millions of people someday,” pants in the Young Arts NaJuniors Matt Cobley and Mohsen Brown show their swag Houston said. tional Singer and Songwriter while casually practicing their freestyle raps.

Houston and Kaplan frequently Competition.

Idaho. He continued rapping after moving to Orinda his create music together and post it to Cobley, also known as SoundCloud, an online blog. Their Big $hot Cob by his fans, wrote sophomore year and it remains one of his favorite hobbies. site is called “Legends of the Hidhis first rap as a sophomore. His His first rap was titled “Unleashed.” His tempo fluctuates den Temple.” musical inspirations are Anthony from song to song and his lyrics reflect many different perLike Houston, Kaplan started Piganelli, a Miramonte alumnus, sonal experiences.

“My lyrics come from the heart,” Brown said. “But making his music at an early age. and J-Cole, his favorite rap artfriends and parties are really what my lyrics are about.”

He produced his first song in eighth ist.

Faulkner creates his own style through his beat boxing. grade on Garage Band. Kaplan reCobley has participated in ceives inspiration mainly from himtwo rap battles so far. In the first Beat boxing can be defined as a form of hip-hop music self, Houston, and the famous DJ he lost against Piganelli two out in which the voice is used to simulate percussion instruPhoto: N. Condon Avicii. of three, and in the second won ments.

Senior Hank Kaplan revises one of his Faulkner recently debuted his unknown talent at the “Honestly, Avicii changed the songs by adding beats on the keyboard. against junior Marshall Deutz. In way I listened to music and looked the future, he hopes to attend Cal Miramonte Talent Shown on March 9. A crowd favorite, at life overall, “ Kaplan said. “He shaped my style of mu- Poly where he can continue rapping and hopefully spread he portrayed great skill through his various beats.

Faulkner decided to pursue a beat boxing path during sic, my other inspiration was #top5pop5legendsofthehid- his music on the college level. dentemple.”

“My lyrics come from the heart, but haters are my mo- his sophomore year at Miramonte.

“I became interested after listening to Carter Soso perKaplan’s favorite professional artist is currently 19 year tivation,” Cobley said. old Porter Robinson, who inspires Kaplan through his creBrown is another well known rapper at Miramonte. He form,” said Faulkner. “I also loved the bands Reeps 1 and ative music. creates a variety of raps featuring other Miramonte stu- Skrillex,” He hopes to continue and expand his skills.

“Don’t listen to what people say if it is just going to Kaplan also has huge plans for the future. dents such as junior Ryan Childers. He posts his songs “These aren’t just hopes; I know that Jack and I will to Youtube where his fans can easily listen or download discourage you,” Soso said. “If you base yourself off what other people say or think then you’ll never be good enough get rich, be famous DJs, make our own label, sign hell them. of people, then start making movies, and eventually move Brown started his music career two years ago living in for yourself.”

Mirador

12 Feature 4/20/12

Elementary School Stereotypes Examined

by Josh Dathe

Orinda Union School District elementary schools build some of the most well-rounded, intelligent, friendly and athletic students. Each school has its own quirky traditions that contribute to the unique personalities of their respective kids. The classic blacktop games, popular teachers, and even janitors all contribute to who the students are today.

SLEEPY HOLLOW Mascot: Headless Horsemen Stereotype: The Competitive Ones Most Popular Game: Wall Ball Sleepy Hollow students are wellrounded kids who are generally athletic and intelligent. They benefit from a large number of field trips including trips to the Exploratorium and the Wagner Ranch Nature Area. SH students receive lunch tickets each week to purchase delicous food, including a wide variety of ice cream such as push pops and lemon ice cups. After School Club (ASC) is the hot spot around school, hosting large games of kickball with Jason, the badass school counselor. Kids play Oregon Trail, Zoombinis, and Type To Learn on the computers in the Computer Lab and compete in legendary wall ball and teatherball tournaments. Sleepy Hollow kids benefit from all of these little perks, which makes them generally well-rounded kids.

GLORIETTA Mascot: The Gophers Stereotype: The Social Ones Most Popular Game: Bar Tag Glorietta is known for the legendary Gopher Club, where most students hang out after school.

Bar Tag is by far the most popular blacktop activity. The Gophers are also notorious for students hanging out on the roof, leading to many occurances of police and parents forcefully removing students. Gophers have their own nature area near the river with a mini amphitheater, where they gather and have a good time together.

To go along with the social gopher theme, Glorietta was also home to the infamous “#projectstevo.”

DEL REY Mascot: The Dolphins Stereotype: The Studious Ones Most Popular Game: Four Square Known for the Rotary Field Day that attracts most all Orinda kids, Del Rey students excel in many quirky activites, including potato sack racing. The Dolphins also host plenty of OBA games, but once players hit the 6th or 7th grade, they graduate to the Wagner Ranch sports field.

Four Square is the top game played on the blacktop, one of the most entertaining and well-known elementary school games. They live next to three schools, Del Rey, OIS, and Miramonte, so they are typically smart because they are constantly surrounded by an academic environment. In addition, Del Rey boasts arguably the best library in the OUSD, helping their students be more academic. Lastly, Del Rey kids are particularly friendly due to interacting with “Mr. Steve,” the lively Dolphin janitor.

WAGNER RANCH Mascot: The Raccoons Stereotype: The Outdoorsy Ones Most Popular Game: Kickball/Knockout The best part of Wagner is easily the Nature Area.

Wagner Ranch students are constantly exposed to the great outdoors. The main games played on the blacktop are kickback and knockout. Wagner students also have the benefit of the Sports Field next to Ebmud. Wagner hosts most OBA baseball games, giving the school a lot of outside popularity. The students from Wagner are very athletic and into the outdoors. Today, you can see many of these elementary school graduates hanging around their old school, hiking, swimming in “the hole,” or playing sports.

Mirador

SPORTS

4/20/12 Sports 13

Boys Lacrosse Continues Swimming Works Hard Toward NCS Title Season with Intensity

by Annie Odell

by Mollie Swan

The varsity men’s lacrosse team continues into the second half of their season with high hopes and aspirations for the future. With only a couple of losses, the team is confident in their ability to make it to the North Coast Sectional finals again this year. On March 9, the team won against Novato, and on March 13 the team defeated Piedmont. On March 21 they lost to Marin Catholic 9-5.

Although the team lost key athletes, Carson Mead and Gabe Gilleran to graduation last year, it has gained numerous new athletes including Ben Sappio ‘14 and Mac Lavis ‘14.

Head coaches Will Abriel, Gary Forman, and Robert Sappio, and captains Chase Hildeburn ‘12, Cole Watson ‘12, and Nick Sheehan ‘13, lead the team in practices Monday through Friday from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. They work on keeping the intensity through an entire game and their fundamental defense positions. The team also practices different drills, usually focusing on six versus six to practice game situations.

“From last season, we hope to improve on keeping the team tighter as a group and family and to work on drive to win,” Watson said. “We want to continue the Miramonte tradition of producing a highly competitive and skilled team.” As well as practicing during the actual season, many Matador lacrosse players maintain their athleticism by playing different team sports in the off-season.

“Even though we lost our entire defense last year along with a very talented attack man, we have done a very good job of replacing their positions,” said team captain Cole Watson ‘12.

The team did some summer training as well, but mostly focused on preseason captain practices during the first half of the school year.

“A handful of players play on year-round lacrosse teams as well,” said Watson.

The team’s ultimate goal is to win DFAL and the NCS Championship.

“Our team is really playing together as a team; we aren’t focused around one player to win our games,” Watson said. “It is a team effort always.”

The team has an upcoming game April 20 at 3:30 p.m. at Marin Academy.

The varsity swim team has been working hard to achieve their goal of winning DFAL and placing in the the top three of NCS. The girls are especially motivated because if they work hard they will have a chance to beat Campolindo, which has not happened in a long time. So far, it appears the hard work is paying off. After a competitive time trial meet, the team traveled to Dougherty Valley where both the boys Photo: S. Haley and girls won.

Jackson Haley ‘12 swims in an intense freestyle race.

Overall, the team performed impressively, but a few swimmers stood out.

The boys medley relay won the event by an astounding eight seconds and Albert Miao ‘13 won the 200 IM by seven seconds. Captains Jenna Haufler ‘12, Tennyson May ‘12, and Kyle Weikert ‘12 also had impressive swims. Haufler won the 100 backstroke by almost three seconds, May won the 50 freestyle by three seconds, and Weikert won the 500 freestyle by an incredible 15 seconds.

Both the boys and girls were victorious in their meet against Dublin. In fact, freshmen Kristin Hong and Shannon Moran were moved up to varsity after performing well during their junior varsity meat.

“At the beginning of the season we did not have any underclassmen on the team, but as the season goes on we are adding a promising group of underclassmen to the roster who will help increase our depth in each event,” Haufler said.

During spring break, the team traveled to Mission Viejo for the Mission Viejo Invitational. They competed against 30 teams from all over California. The girls took second place, and the boys took fourth place. After competing on Saturday the team spent the rest of the weekend participating in team bonding activities, including going to Magic Mountain amusement park.

Although many people have the misconception that swimming is an individual sport, it is very much a team sport. The team’s head coach, Donnie Heidary, emphasizes the importance of working as a unit through the season’s theme: Supermats. Heidary expects all team members to be supportive and cheer for their teammates. This has proved effective in the recent meets and the team has high expectations for its upcoming meets against Acalanes and Campolindo.

Baseball Swings into the Season with Full Force

by Nicola Gonzales

Baseball hits a home run this season, continuing their top-notch legacy. The Miramonte team boasts excellence with great coaches and players. Currently, the team has maintained a 6-2 record.

Most players on the team have been playing for a minimum of five years, beginning with the recreational OBA. One of the unique things about this team is how close they are. They have team bonding sessions, including barbeques once every couple of weeks.

“I’d say we are a pretty close team,” said Andrew Rosenzweig ‘14. “There are no huge egos on the team, and we are just a chill group who looks out for each other.”

While most sports take up your entire life with morning practices and Saturday Photo: L. Epperson games, the Matt Bonomo ‘12 lays out to snag a fly ball. baseball schedule is not as strenuous. It leaves time for friends and academics, an unusual concept for most athletes. On days they don’t have games, they practice from 2:30-4:45 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9:00-11:30 a.m.

“The commitment is just like any other sport, especially in high school,” said Rosenzweig. “It’s something we love to do so we just enjoy it.

In practice, they work on batting and fielding, and the effectiveness is relative to each player’s position. For example, catchers focus on drills that will help their catching skills in a game, while pitchers will skip the catching drills and work on striking batters out.

“We become more prepared for what we are going to see in the games and the situations force us to make snap decisions like what happens in a game,” Bennett Stehr ‘14 said.

So far the best game of the season was San Marin, in which pitcher Jonathan Hong ‘12 pitched extraordinarily and only gave up a few runs. The Mats won 4-1. One of their less successful games was against Dougherty Valley, which they lost 2-6.

Captains Spencer Marx ’12, Drew Jackson ’12, and Paddy O’Brien ’12 lead the team through their successes and pick them up after difficult losses. The coaches are Vince Dell’Aquila and his son Brian, Sal Vaccaro, John Martinez, Drew Bennett, and Michael Robertson.

Softball Strengthens Impressive Record

by Colleen Burke

The triumphant Miramonte girls’ softball team is the toughest of the tough. It has taken many grueling hours of practice to bring them back up to greatness with a 9-2 record.

This varsity team is made up of 12 girls: two freshmen, four sophomores, four juniors, and three seniors. They have grown into a tight-knit and supportive team.

During one rough game, catcher Devin Mottier, was rammed into by an opposing player, resulting in a dislocated shoulder as well as a broken collarbone. Still, she continues to attend practices and games, playing as much as she can.

Paul Keener and Michelle Gorman, the varsity coaches, have created a strong and confident Photo: J. Ulrick team. Their two losses to Dough- Breanna Correll ‘13 throws the ball. erty Valley and Alhambra provided learning experiences for the players. They learned to be supportive and energetic even through a loss, and they also learned what to focus on for improvement.

So far, the softball team has shown much improvement from the previous years.

There are high hopes for future victories in the next two months of the season and even higher hopes for upcoming years.

14 Sports 4/20/12

Girls’ Lacrosse Prepares to Win

by Georgia Briskey

Mirador

lost 14-16, but prepared for their next game on March 30 against Dougherty Valley.

They won easily with a final score of 17-7.

Captains this year include Mary Doyle ‘12 and Lauren Dougherty ‘13. Other star players include Genevieve Murphy ‘14, Hannah Friel ‘14, and Maddie Geary ‘15.

“Most of our greatest players are offensive players, so we’re trying to practice more in the defensive part of our

The women’s lacrosse team continues to bring in wins for their 2012 season. After losing key goalie Danny Albo ‘11 and offensive player Alex Seclow ‘11, the team trains hard at every late-night practice.

These practices exercise various, vital aspects of the lacrosse game including endurance training, strategy perfecting, and team building.

Each practice starts with “shuttles,” which consists of running while passing a lacrosse ball to a partner.

After warming up with different exercises, the team practices game play with each other, called “7 v. 7.”

The offensive part of the team plays against the defensive part of the team. Through this drill, the team focuses on Photo: G.Briskey different plays During a night practice, the girls’ lacrosse team works on while perfecting shooting drills while goalie Maddy Bush ‘13 blocks the shots. their strategy for their real games.

The practices are run by coach Alexandra game,” said Friel.

Tickner, who gets involved with the team The team seems to be improving their by doing the same dryland work that she game because the Mats won against instructs the team to do.

Alhambra on April 13 with an impressive Their practice is paying off, as they score of 18-3. have only lost two league games.

“We’re understanding how to play well On March 16 the team played against with each other. When we play like a team Berkeley on Miramonte territory and we always end up with a win,” said Geary. endured a close game. Through the battle, The team looks forward to going far in Miramonte fought for a victory, ending DFALs in May and potentially winning the with a score of 16-15. whole competition.

Continuing their streak, the Mats The Mats play against Redwood at triumphed against Piedmont on March 19 home tonight at 5:30, an expected win. and Livermore on March 28. This streak Come support your athletics and represent came to an end against Acalanes. The Mats Miramonte in the stands.

Men’s Golf Swings Towards NCS Spot

by Tennyson May After losing their first match, the golf team has been hot, winning the rest of their league matches and placing third at the Monarch Bay Tournament.

The six-man team consists of Patrick Fabian ‘13, Kevin Swimmer ‘13, Taylor Campbell ‘13, Dominic Paoletti ‘14, Scott Guidotti ‘15, and captain Henry Cassriel ‘14.

Having defeated Acalanes twice, Alhambra, Dougherty Valley, Las Lomas, and Campo twice, their only loss has been against Dublin, the two-time reigning league.

The match was played away at a relatively unfamiliar course for the boys and the team believes that they can come back and beat Dublin at the league championship.

The team’s best win was played away against a very strong Campolindo team.

At the match Fabian shot a 37 and Cassriel shot a season low of 35.

The team attributes much of its success to its depth. “When our four, five, and six

guys come through, we’re unstoppable,” said Fabian. “They’ve been coming through a lot recently.”

Cassriel, a sophomore captain chosen by his teammates, has high hopes for his team.

“Right now we’re in a safe second place, but we can beat Dublin and take the league championships,” said Cassriel. “We’re pretty evenly matched with them and we play against them at home next time, so it should be a good match.”

If they can keep up their strong play, they can surely reach their goal of winning league championships.

A first place finish in league would give the boys a spot in the NCS tournament.

If the team finishes second, they’d have to play in a qualifier to get a spot in the Section tournament.

“I think we’ll perform well if we go to NCS,” said Cassriel. “If we play our best, then we should go on to the State tournament in Southern California.”

The boys played Las Lomas yesterday after the Mirador went to press.

Track and Field Runs to DFALs

by Natalie Wapniarski

Carrying a record of 0-1, track and field is hard at work, training to compete in DFALs on May 9-10. Coaches Brad Albin, Tristan Tool and Dan Shortenhaus have high hopes for the upcoming league meets and final meet, counting on their athletes to continue to give it their all.

“The team is improving a lot as the season progresses,” said captain Ariel Thomas ‘13. “All of us are really looking forward to seeing how the team does as we compete in the more competitive meets towards the end of the season.”

Led by captains Micah Solit ‘12, Devon McDonald ‘12, Adam Roeder ‘12, and Thomas, the team has become upbeat and prepared to beat their rivals in upcoming league meets this month, in hopes of establishing a good ground for DFALs. “I think we have a really good chance to compete against all the teams in DFAL and beat most of them,” said Solit.

“Campo will be our toughest opponent on the girls side and for the guys Dublin

will be our biggest challenge.”

On March 28, the team had their first league meet, losing against Acalanes by a small number of points.

Multiple relay teams traveled to the Arcadia Invitational on April 4-7. The girls 4x800 and the boys distance medley relay both placed in the invitational heats. The girls 4x400 also achieved their personal record, dropping two seconds.

The team is looking to star runners Jamie Fehrnstrom ‘12, Kevin Booze ‘12, Tyler Hanson ‘13, Rebekah Ent ‘13 and Kera Deakins ‘13 to help them rack up the points at DFALs. Upcoming league meets against Las Lomas and Alhambra on April 25, followed by Dublin and Campolindo on May 2. The team only has a few more chances to polish off their performance before the all-league meet.

“Out of the four teams Campolindo will have the most competition for us,” said McDonald. “They have a very strong distance program, but hopefully we will have enough people winning other events to pull out the win.”

Miramonte Cycling Club Shifts Into High Gear

by Ali Pietrykowski

and Folsom, and has one race at Boggs Mountain near Napa. The distances range from 10 miles for freshmen and 25 miles for varsity. Each category has its own

This year the Miramonte Cycling Club has recruited a greater number of racers, compared to past seasons, and the team hopes this will improve their ranking and status. The club competes in the Norcal High School Cycling League against 27 other teams, and has races about every three weeks.

The season started in late February and Photo: A. O’Camb will finish in The Miramonte Cycling Club poses for a picture with their coach the middle of and trophy after enduring a long race.

May after the State Championships in Los Olivos, in distance depending on experience level.

Southern California.

In the first race of the season, Miramonte Last year the nationals were held in Sun earned third place in the Division II Valley, Idaho, and Erik Johnson ‘13, Adam category. Sarah Rockwood ‘15 and MarieO’Camb ’12, and Justin O’Camb ‘15 Claire Schillinger ‘15 have placed in the competed. Johnson won his category out top five in the past two competitions and of roughly 60 riders. This year nationals are very important members. Rockwood return to Sun Valley, and the team hopes to also recently finished first place in one of send a few more of their faster riders. her races.

“The adrenaline boost that I get after The team hopes to someday have cycling a ridiculous climb or after a blistering be noticed as a school sport. Although downhill is hard to give up,” said Johnson. sponsors such as Cliff Bar, GU Energy, Every Wednesday the team rides at Oakwood Athletic Club, and Pleasant Hill Redwood Park after school for about an Cyclery support the team, school support is hour. something they hope to achieve.

They also ride every Sunday, for “The ultimate goal is to make the club two or three hours, often at Briones, but a recognized school sport,” said Johnson. occasionally at Tamarancho, China Camp, “Other schools with enormous cycling or Mount Diablo. teams have achieved that, mostly by the “A lot of the riders do much more sheer size of the team.” training on their own,” said Adam O’Camb.

“Cycling is a lifelong sport. I once “We practice efficient riding techniques rode against a 70-year-old man who was and bike handling skills, but we focus still extremely fit and able to complete a mainly on uphill training because that is difficult course,” said Adam O’Camb. where the races are won.”

“You definitely wouldn’t see that with The team races mainly in Monterey most high school sports.”

Mirador

4/20/12 Sports 15

Athlete of the Issue: Mary Doyle

by Julia Hass and Nicola Gonzales Seeing Mary Doyle ‘12 catch the lacrosse ball with easy familiarity as she sprints down the field, one would assume she has been playing her whole life.

It would surprise many to know that she only re-took up lacrosse her junior year in high school, after taking a two year break from the sport, which she began in fifth grade.

During these two years, Doyle ran track for Miramonte, something that is reflected in her sprints across the field.

Doyle returned from her break better than ever; during last year’s season Doyle received the Coach’s Award and made the 2011 DFAL All-League 2nd Team.

Doyle’s decision to take a two-year break from the sport resulted more from pressure from her track coach than a lack of love for the game.

“The reason I love lacrosse, other than the team and family crap that everyone talks about, is simply the fast pace of the game,” Doyle said. “Our scores can get up to pretty high numbers as opposed to soccer or other sports.”

Even though sports can be a great outlet and a fun way to exercise, they also have a huge presence in one’s life.

“Lacrosse is a big time commitment, especially during the summer when I had to drive like half an hour to practice every day,” said Doyle. These practices were for Doyle’s club team, Triple Threat Lacrosse, which is based in Dublin.

“I’ve just met so many people, especially through my club team, so I would definitely say that’s how lacrosse has affected my life the most,” said Doyle.

Doyle and her club team friends each have a notecard filled with inspirational quotes from athletes like Michael Jordan to pump them up before games. She also has a cherry lollipop before every game, more for fun than anything else.

Doyle’s favorite memory from Miramonte lacrosse is from a drill called “power finesse.” They take two shots: one shot based entirely on strength and the other focused on aim.

“Maddie Geary, one of our freshman, was taking her powershot, and she was running forward and grunting, and she just completely ate it. Her stick went flying and the ball went nowhere near the goal,” said Doyle.

Although there’s not a lot of time for fun outside of school and lacrosse, Doyle enjoys going to Tahoe with

Photos: N. Gonzales (left), M. Doyle (above)

Left: Mary Doyle shines brightly in an individual shot with her dear friend Yoda.

Above: At the beginning of lacrosse games, one player from each team attempts to win the draw. Doyle attempts to gain the advantage for Miramonte.

her family. Her mom’s side of the family shares a cabin and she likes to go up with her cousins. “It’s a good place to have that’s just away from all of this in Orinda,” said Doyle.

Doyle has a support group at home; her family encourages her to do her best, and though they can be critical at times, their constant support is vital to her success.

“My parents go to all my games, and when I get home from school my brother always practices with me,” said Doyle.

When it comes to school, Doyle manages to keep her work and lacrosse under control. She takes six periods and gets most of her work done during seventh period.

She plans on attending UC Davis next year and playing lacrosse.

“I know I want to major in some sort of science like biology or physiology,” said Doyle. “Anything that would help me get into a medical career.”

But for now Doyle is focusing on this season and spending her last year at home with friends and family.

“Mary Doyle is definitely the main leader on our team

Fun Facts About Mary Doyle

Favorite Food: Peanut M&Ms

Favorite Actor: Matthew Lewis Favorite Musician: The Shins

Favorite Lacrosse team: Northwestern Favorite Movie: Finding Nemo Favorite TV show: Lost

Favorite Athlete: Ryan Lochte this year,” said Hannah Friel ‘14. “She’s an incredible player and really does a good job of making plays and bringing our team together. She’s positive, hard working, and an inspiration to all of us.”

In a school full of stressed out athletes and students, Doyle is a prime example of how to manage your sport and schoolwork effectively, and still have a happy high school career.

Rogue Bucks Overcome Lack of Membership Although Miramonte’s close-knit frisbee team consists of only eight committed members, they live up to their daunting title stemming from a dog-killing deer in Orinda

by Kate Wolffe Despite over 100 sign ups on club day, Miramonte’s resident ultimate frisbee team, the Rogue Bucks, has only eight dedicated members. But dedicated they are.

Though not supported as an official sports team by the school, the club is quite advanced. They participate in competitions with other teams from California, and are looking forward to a state competition this May. “We have tournaments about once a month, and they decide where we’re seated during the state competition,” said Kaiser Pister ‘14.

Even though the mostly underclass team is reeling from the loss of multiple seniors, hopes are high for the state competition, hosted this year in Pleasanton.

“

nique,” said Guy Raber ‘14.

Wilson , a former resident of North Carolina, provides tactical and techniquefocused instruction. The team may be composed mainly of underclassmen, but many players have four or more years of Photo: Z. Brooks experiDuring a practice, Patrick Huston dives for a frisbee so fast that a camera can’t even capture ence unit. “The picture is a little blurry, but oh well such is life, right?” commented Huston. der their belts. the team.

Founded in 2005 by two enthusiastic students, “He’s amazingly fast, and he can jump, throw, and the Miramonte team’s name has evolved from its dive,” said Pister. With five years under his belt, Huston original Miramatteo to MUFF (or the Miramonte has the experience that many newcomers lack.

Ultimate Frisbee Federation), to its current title, The team stresses that this shouldn’t defer anyone the Rogue Bucks. The name is derived from the though. Despite the members’ abundant experience, wild deer that appeared a few years ago in Orinda, they’re always willing to welcome new players, even ones roaming the city and stunning all by killing a dog. with little to no prior exposure to the sport.

When asked about the current name, the Frisbee “We need new members. JOIN! We’re a club sport, advisor, Jennifer Moore groans. but not one that’s officially recognized by Miramonte so “I’m totally an animal person, but that’s what they it’s hard to get support. Formal practice is Thursday, and want, and it fits in with the league,” said Moore. And with Mondays are just really relaxed after-school practices. It’s teams dubbed Dark Meat and Fresh Meat also included in co-ed and great exercise, a lot of fun, anyone can learn, the league, the Rogue Bucks and their curious namesake and with practice, you can get really great,” said Huston. are no abnormality.

Ultimate frisbee may be underrated, however the playThe general consensus is that Huston is the best and ers themselves would argue that the experience is one that fiercest competitor, standing a few inches over the rest of they will never forget.

We’re a club sport, but not one that’s officially recognized by Miramonte, so it’s hard to get support.

-Patrick Huston ‘14

”

“We aren’t doing so well against other teams,” said Patrick Huston ‘14. “Losing the seniors was a blow, but we’re working hard to improve and prepare ourselves for state.”

These improvements are coming steadily thanks to a new coach.

“Since we’re all sophomores, we can only go up from here. Our new coach, Wendel Wilson, is a really good player who has been really helping us improve our tech-

Mirador

4/20/12 Sports 16

Two Way Street Editors Tennyson May and Trevor Rechnitz talk MVPs, Giants, and College Before the NBA “half the editor...twice the facial hair.”

MVP: Kevin Durant v. Lebron James Trevor: The NBA MVP is an award different from any other. While other sports focus on raw stats, the NBA gives their most prestigious award to the player that contributes most to his team’s success. That’s why Kobe Bryant didn’t win the award in 2006 despite averaging 35 points per game, and why Dwayne Wade didn’t win it in 2009 despite averaging 30. Based on this criteria, LeBron James will take home the MVP hands down. While Durant edges out James in the most overrated stat in the NBA, points per game, James tops Durant in assists, rebounds, steals and shooting percentage. James has been double-teamed his whole career. Those double-teams free up a player, and James will find that open man. James taking up attention in the post is an important aspect of the Heat offense which allows perimeter players and cutters to get freed up, which explains James’s seven assists per game average. Although last year James tossed out the idea of an MVP, claiming that it would be impossible while playing side by side with Wade, James is performing like, if not better than, his hay days in Cleveland. In addition to these well-rounded stats, the Heat are 43-17, and second in the competitive Eastern Conference. James is central to the Heat’s success, and when the Heat win, so will LBJ. The King will have his ring.

players, and the final MVP vote will go to whoever can carry their team further. At this point OKC trails behind the Spurs in the stronger Western Conference and the Heat are sitting behind the Bulls in the Eastern Conference.

When you throw in Durant’s likeable personality and humble demeanor versus LeBron’s giant ego and the Thunder’s overall record, Durant should take home the MVP trophy this year.

Giants Baseball Trevor: How should Giants fans feel about this upcoming season? Optimistic! First, in order to understand why we can be successful in 2012, we need to understand why we failed in 2011. In short, the Giants failed due to a severe lack of offensive production. The G-Men finished last in the National League in

offensive lineup. If Cabrera had a clone in the MLB, it would be in new teammate Angel Pagan. Both speedy, switch-hitting centerfielders with irregular track records of offensive production, these two hitters, if they get hot, can bolster the Giants’ lineup and send them deep into October.

To compliment our new bats, a healthy Buster Posey, Freddy Sanchez and Pablo Sandoval will carry the Giants’ offensive production. Prospects Brett Pill and Hector Sanchez, and potential mid season call-ups, bode well for the black and orange for not only 2012, but in future years as well.

Photo: R. Lahser/MCT

Kwame Brown sucks. Maybe if he had gone to college he would be semi decent today.

runs scored and on-base percentage, and allowed eight more runs than they scored. If the Giants are to rebound and be a serious Tennyson: I hate LeBron, contender in 2012, they but I do think he’s an amazing need to score runs. A lot player. However, I believe more runs. Hopefully Kevin Durant deserves MVP the off-season moves by honors. Both players are GM Brian Sabean will having statistically amazing be enough to combat the seasons on two of the best dreaded three and out that teams in the league. Despite defined the 2011 season. losing their second game While no one can know Photo: J. Villegas/MCT against the Heat, I believe that With a healthy Buster Posey, the Giants might be for sure, I feel optimistic. the first Heat-Thunder match able to score more than one run a game.

Arguably, Sabean’s most up, which resulted in a lopsided substantial move was Thunder victory, was a better showing of who the true to trade starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez and prospect MVP is. Durant and the Thunder cooled down the Heat in Ryan Verdugo for Kansas City outfielder Melky Cabrera. a 103-87 win, while Durant completely outplayed LeBron. Cabrera had a career year in 2011, and his stock is high, The Durantula had 28 points, eight assists, nine rebounds, and still on the rise. Even if Cabrera can’t maintain his .305 two steals, and held LeBron to eight for 18 shooting. In batting average and 18 homeruns, his consistent offensive the end both Durant and LeBron are ridiculously talented production will fill a gaping hole in the Giants’ meager

Tennyson: I refuse to write about the Giants. Go Dodgers.

College Basketball Before the NBA

Trevyson Maechnitz: While we agree that there are players who are certainly talented enough to go straight to the pros, players should play at least one year in college. College gives players an opportunity to learn and develop into better players before reaching the NBA. Gerald Green is a perfect example of someone that this rule would have benefited. Green, who won the 2007 Dunk Contest, was incredibly athletic. Despite showing flashes of talent in his early career, he lacked a real sense of the game and basketball intelligence. Because of this he’s spent a majority of his career as a bench warmer or in the D-League. The rule not only helps the NBA, but also NCAA basketball. If more players played through college, we would see better, more experienced teams in March Madness. A player leaving after their freshman year makes college basketball seem like a joke, and it’s great to watch a player play and grow with his teammates through four years. Also, everyone loves to see the emotion that seniors play with during their final college season. If more players went through college, it would increase the literacy levels among professional basketball and make interviews more interesting… we’re looking at you Monta.

A History of Mystifying Sports Trades

by Trevor Rechnitz

How many of us have played the role-playing GM game at least once in our lives? We say “if I were running this team, things would be a whole hell of a lot different,” and then we put the footrest up, take another sip of our drink and keep cheering for someone to blindside Tim Tebow.

In the good old days we managed our baseball card teams; now we run the fantasy football league. Some of us have grown into diehard Bay Area sports fans and may go on to have a real place in sports.

Even though we may hate some of the trades our GMs pull, sports, above all, is a business. Teams are doing what they can to win. However, to the demise of teams, fan bases, and franchises in general, trades often backfire.

For anyone considering a career in the sports management business, be weary of the following horrible sports trades (especially in the Bay Area). In the spirit of never making the same mistake twice, the analyzed trades are in chronological order.

First and foremost, arguably the worst trade in sports history: The Red Sox sold the Babe. Looking for cash to finance the musical “No, No, Nanette,” Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold baseball’s greatest player to the Yankees for $100,000, plus a $300,000 loan, in 1920. Ruth hit 54

home runs in 1920, three more than his three closest challengers combined. He hit 59 the following year. Starting in 1923, Ruth led the league in home runs eight of the next nine seasons, peaking at 60 in 1927.

With the sale of Ruth, Frazee became anathema in Boston (and still is). One night when he still owned the Red Sox, he and a young lady took a taxi to Fenway Park. The cabbie overheard his boasts about the team he owned and asked if his passenger really was the Harry Frazee. Frazee said he was. The driver flattened him with one punch.

Next, in more recent Bay Area history, the San Francisco Giants traded prospects Francisco Liriano and Joe Nathan for Twins catcher AJ Pierzynski. With the Giants, Pierzyski hit .272 with 11 homeruns and 77 RBI’s and led the team in hitting in to double plays. He spent one season in San Francisco before leaving as a free agent. Meanwhile, Nathan had 44 saves for the Minnesota Twins and is now their all-time saves leader.

Although Giants fans should be more than happy with Brian Wilson closing out games, Nathan, if developed with the Giants, could have been traded for a mid-lineup power hitter, like Michael Bourne, or James Loney. Brian Sabean, the Giants general manager went home with his tail between his legs on this trade, and he took a harder slap to the face when Pierzynski left for the White Sox and

won the World Series in 2005.Liriano is also performing well above where Sabean projected him.

Lastly, the motivation for this analysis on horrible trading, the Golden State Warriors traded Monta Ellis, Kwame Brown, and Ekpe Udoh to the Milwaukee Bucks for Stephen “Cap’n Jack” Jackson and injury-prone center Andrew Bogut. There is no doubt that Bogut is a solid player when he’s healthy, but the Warriors didn’t make a significant upgrade at any position with this trade, and traded away consistent offensive production in Ellis and a somewhat coordinated big man in Udoh.

Originally, the Warriors wanted Dwight Howard for Ellis, and settling for Bogut is beyond dumb. In addition, Bogut and Jackson don’t fit in to the Warriors transition basketball style of play. The Bucks got an absolute steal on this one, in one of the most lopsided NBA trades since the Nets dumped Julius Erving.

As long as there are sports, there will be sports trades, and as long as there are sports trades there will be bad sports trades. I mean, if I had 5,000 words, I would start to write about the Oakland Athletics’ trade history. Bad sports trades make following teams and sports a challenge, but they’re part of the game. So to all of you disheartened Bay Area sports fans, stay positive, dream of October 2010, and send Monta postcards.

Mirador

4/20/12 Entertainment 17

Entertainment

Outside Lands Lineup Generates Excitement

& Culture

by Rachael Oczkus

Photo: P. Kos (left) E. Antin (right)

If you have $7 and an appreciation for funky vintage art, today is your lucky day.

The UC Berkeley Art Museum has compiled over 150 works of Conceptual art from the 70s in an exhibition aptly named “State of Mind: New California Art Circa 1970,” which will be on display until June 17.

The exhibit is photography-dominated, including everything from obscure selfportraits to Robert Kinmont’s “8 Natural Handstands” series, but contains videos, films, and several other mediums as well. BAM has created a showcase of many rarely seen or newly discovered works that demonstrate the role of California artists in the Conceptual art movement. The idea behind this form of art is that the concepts and ideas of the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic concerns.

State Of Mind takes viewers back through the emerging philosophies and issues of the 70’s. It is certainly not your typical art exhibit, and is well worth checking out.

While you’re at it, BAM is also hosting several other exhibitions, including a gallery of Andy Warhol’s Polaroids, an Abstract Expressionisms exhibit featuring renowned artists such as Mark Rothko, and a photography series exploring sun’s power called “Sun Works.”

-Lauren Dahlberg-Seeth

This week, the lineup for the 2012 Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park was announced. With headliners like Metallica, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Jack White, and the Foo Fighters, fans are excited for the festival which runs Aug. 10 through 12.

After much speculation from fans and locals, the highlyanticipated lineup, announced by Ranger Dave on Tuesday, has been well received by the public.

Although this year’s festival does not feature as many popular bands as it has in past years, the musical guests are timely acts that are sure to please any audience.

The extensive list of artists aims to please the masses with the large amounts of different genres incorporated into the festival. For electronic lovers, Skrillex will be the main event. For those eager to hear some old school beats, Neil Young definitely excites.

The wide variety also allows people to make decisions about who they would like to see and what type of music they would like to listen to at the top of each hour.

The bands playing earlier in the day are typically less well-known groups. One of the benefits of attending all three days of the festival is that you can be introduced to many new and sometimes local bands. Impress your friends with your music knowledge!

The festival not only includes many popular musical guests, but also good food and wine for those who wish to indulge.

Tickets are now available online for people of all ages.

Although they are pricey, the weekend is packed with fun and lots of live music, making it worth the money.

“This year’s festival will be great,” said sophomore Paige Powell. “I don’t think it is exactly what people were expecting, but there are still so many great bands. I am so excited to go and see so many legendary people on the stage.”

You can expect to see lots of Miramonte students including Powell at this year’s Outside Lands.

Kids These Days: More Persuasive Than Ever

by Kate Wolffe

For a wonderful weekend last month, Mirador correspondent Kate Wolffe was given the opportunity to brush up on her editing skills with some fifth graders essays. With their creative ideas, thought, questionable honesty, and debatable spelling, these essays opened her eyes and proved that kids really do say the darndest things.

July 13, 2000 the government made a rule that you could not kill dolphins or harming them and shooting them for dinner. Almost all fishermen would not listen and they still did not listen and would kill and eat the dolphins in China.

Dolphins live in warm water like Hawaii and Florida, so it’s hard to get food because they can’t hold their breath as long as 10 minutes.

This is terrible.

Too much homework is very time consuming. Kids will be so much busy with their work there would be no time for a game of cards, much less chess!

Kids need their sleep. Eleven or thirteen hours is the normal and healthy amount for kids to get. Once I slept from 10 pm to 8 am and I was so exhausted I couldn’t even go to school.

Studies show there are less than 1,000 Giant Pandas left in the world, which is so sad. I really wish we could MAKE pandas, which would be totally awesome.

If you don’t wash the dishes then your dishes will have last night’s lasagna on your plate when you are eating pancakes and bacon for breakfast—YUCK.

Scientists have discovered that people pollute EVERY DAY. Smoking can cause bad air inserted into the air we take in and cause not only humans to DIE, but animals, nature, and EVEN ELECTRONICS. Slowly, yet efficiently, President Mr. Barack Obama is making the discovery smoking kills.

Graphics: C. Burke and M. Sherne

Mirador

18 Entertainment 4/20/12

The Most Important Meal of the Issue

by Helen Britto and Lauren Dahlberg-Seeth

The Bay Area has no shortage of breakfast places, but Mirador set out to find the best of the best. Using a “Three Thumbs-Up” rating scale, Miramonte’s harshest breakfast critics evaluated the food quality, service, and price at several locally renowned spots, as well as a few hidden gems.

Rick & Ann’s

People from all over the Bay Area flock to this restaurant, especially on weekends, which often results in a wait time of over an hour. Mirador recommends you wait it out— you’ll be happy you did. Once you have a table, the service is surprisingly quick, and once you get your food, you’ll understand what all the hype is about.

Location: Berkeley Recommendation: French toast (left) Food: Service: Bargain: Photo: R. Dahlberg

Photo: S. Britto

Millie’s Kitchen

Bette’s Oceanview Diner Bette’s Oceanview Diner on Fourth Street is a Bay Area classic... even though it doesn’t exactly have an ocean view. There may be a long wait to get a table, but that’s because Bette’s has the best breakfast around. Two words: souffle pancakes.

Location: Berkeley Recommendation: Souffle Pancakes (right) Food: Service: Bargain:

A popular spot for Lamorindans, Millie’s provides delicious food in a homey atmosphere. Although there is often a line out the door, it is well worth the wait! Come prepared and don’t let the fact that this is a cash-only establishment take you by surprise.

Location: Lafayette Recommendation: Coffee cake (above) Food Quality: Service: Bargain: Photo: M. Stern

Chicken And Waffles

If you’re low on cash and want a soulful meal, look no further. With locations on both sides of the Caldecott Tunnel, Chicken and Waffles provides cheap food and quick service—unless it’s Sunday, when the restaurant is packed to the brim. The food quality is not top notch, but you will never leave hungry.

Location: Oakland and Walnut Creek Recommendation: Signature chicken and waffles (left) Food: Service: Bargain: Photo: L. Dahlberg-Seeth

Photo: L. Dahlberg-Seeth

Montclair Egg Shop

With its kid friendly atmosphere, attentive waitors, delicious coffee, and unique selection of egg dishes, Montclair Egg Shop draws patrons from all over the Bay Area.

Although the menu’s lack of pancakes is a drawback, the cheaply priced food is definitely a plus.

Location: Montclair Recommendation: Challah french toast Food: Service: Bargain:

Village Inn Cafe

Catering mostly to families and the retired citizens of Orinda, this is the perfect place when searching for a leisurely, local, and tasty bite to eat. With all the tempting side dishes the Village Inn has to offer, it’s a great place to go with your parents, who will pay for you.

Location: Orinda Recommendation: Chocolate milkshake Food: Service: Bargain:

Jim’s Coffee Shop

Although from the outside it doesn’t look like much, Jim’s is one of the Bay Area’s hidden gems. With ample amounts of indoor seating, there is hardly ever a wait. Its delectable and low-cost food is well worth the trek for Lamorindans.

Location: Alameda Recommendation: Mickey and Minnie Mouse pancakes with whipped cream (above) Food: Service: Bargain:

Snooki’s Got a Meatball in the Oven

by Mollie Swan and Ali Pietrykowski

.S

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi shocked the reality television world when she announced that there is a little meatball in the oven. Polizzi, who exposed her crazy party antics on Gr ap five seasons of MTV’s hit reality h ic :M series Jersey Shore, does not seem like she is ready to settle down and raise baby guidos and guidettes.

However, in an US Weekly interview with Polizzi and her gorilla juicehead of a fiancé, Jionni Lavelle, she assured her fans that she is changing her habits and is ready for the responsibility of being a mother.

The Mirador staff unanimously voted that Snooki will be an inadequate mother and will fail to abandon her love for partying.

However, a select few commented that they do not completely underestimate her parenting abilities. Believe it or not, there are a handful of proud Snooki supporters at Miramonte.

“Judging by Snooki’s tweets, she obviously stays in

n wa

most nights with Jionni so she is definitely ready for this baby meatball,” said dedicated Snooki fan, junior Maddy Cuyler.

There is no question that Polizzi’s baby, no matter what gender, will pop out of the womb looking exceptionally bronzed. We predict that this baby may not grow to be five feet tall, but will surely adopt his or her parents’ outgoing Italian personalities. This baby will always be dressed head-to-toe in leopard print, rhinestones, and popular Italian style brands such as Ed Hardy.

While the child may be criticized by tabloids, he or she will not struggle to find his or her place in the world. Especially with the help and support of loving parents and all members of the Jersey Shore family, excluding “The Situation”, of course. One thing is for sure: Jersey Shore fans are anxiously waiting to find out what sassy Italian name they choose for their baby.

Snooki has a whopping 4.8 million followers on Twitter and keeps fans updated on her life.

Snooki’s Twitter Feed: “Still rockin my heels! I’ll give birth in heels.”

“Time for my little meatball and I to workout. xoxo” “I wanna see the easter bunny so my bump can say hi :)” “I got swagger with my pregnant self =)” “When my baby can hear sound I’m gonna blast Dobenbeck, Ercola, Medina, Kaskade & Tiesto!”

Possible Boy Names: Alfonso, Demetri, Emilio, Gustavo, Luigi Possible Girl Names: Allegra, Feliciana, Gessica, Jiovana

Mirador

4/20/12 Entertainment 19

Best Vending Machine Food

by Kelsi Lerner and Cameron White Everyone knows the infamous vending machine trio next to the gym. With a wide selection to choose from, the vending machines can be a little intimidating. Fret not, though! The Mirador staff has got you covered. Here we’ve chosen the best value, the most popular, the best price, and the best taste for you to choose from. Happy snacking!

• $1.00 • 190 Calories • Net Weight: 1.5 oz.

Best Price: Nature Valley Oats ‘N Honey Granola Bar The Oats ‘N Honey Granola Bars are made with real honey and brown sugar syrup, combined with rolled oats.

They’re 100 percent natural, and are high in fiber and protein but low in saturated fat. To make them even better, they cost only $1.00! So you don’t even have to worry about finding an extra dime.

Best Taste: Sour Gummy Worms

• Worms$1.10 • 200 Calories • Net Weight: 2 oz.

Popularity: Cheetos

Best Value: Fritos, The Original Corn Chips

• $1.10 • 160 Calories • Net Weight: 2 oz.

Fritos are a classic snack for many, and they’re not a bad choice. When you buy a bag of Fritos, you get quite a bit of food when compared to some other snacks in the vending machine. Fritos corn chips are salty and delicious. So when you’re really hungry, grab a bag of Fritos!

Sour Gummy Worms are basically the best thing you can buy from the vending machines.

They’re gummy, they’re sour, and they taste like deliciousness.

Like the Flaming Hot Cheetos, the Sour Gummy Worms sell out fast, so when you see them in the machine it might be a good idea to buy some!

Flaming

Hot

The Flaming Hot Cheetos appear to be very popular.

They usually sell out within the first few days after the vending machines are restocked. Flaming Hot Cheeos are delicous and cruchy, and you’ll be wishing that you had • $1.10 more! Because of this, they’re • 170 Cal. per serving the most popular item.

• Net Weight: 2 oz.

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Photos: Handouts

Top iPhone MHS App Scores Miramonte students reveal their high scores for their favorite apps

by Natalie Condon and Cassidy Waters

Twitter

Graphics: N. Condon and C. Waters

Hours: Tues 1-5, Wed. 10-5, Th/F 1-5:30, Sat 12-5:30, Sun 1-5 *Bring in this AD for 10% off 1 item until Summer break/June 15.

20 Backpage 4/20/12

Mirador

Merry Memes for the Miramonte Masses Following the ever-trendy Facebook and Tumblr, the Mirador created Miramonte-inspired memes. These images poke fun at the trials and tribulations of attending Miramonte High School. As students, we know that sometimes life at Miramonte is not that easy. The least we can do in these trying times is laugh at ourselves and our memes. Create your own memes about our marvelous school and send them to mhsmirador@gmail.com to see them on the Mirador Facebook page along with mhsmirador.com. Make sure to check the website for your memes and like the Mirador on Facebook!