Highlights April 10, 2014

highlights

April 10, 2014 Volume 87, Issue 12 Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills, Calif. beverlyhighlights.com

“We had to stray from routines,” sophomore Alexandra Lamas said

Overbooked, understaffed, ASB’s blood drive faces problems

Cheer competes at USA Comp.

ASB hosts blood drive

on beverlyhighlights.com

SBAC field testing receives mixed reviews Jackson Prince sports editor The Smarter Balanced Assessment System, which will replace the annual California Standardized Testing next Spring as part of the SBAC Field Testing, held its dress rehearsal two weeks ago at every high school across the state of California.

The system is “designed to measure student progress toward college and career readiness,” and the “smart” program upon which

the test runs, in which questions get easier or more difficult depending on a student’s correct answers on certain questions, is believed to be more beneficial to the test-taker.

Assistant Principal Dr. Regina Zurbano, who oversaw much of the administration of the testing, reported that the “state…changed its assessment system in order to reflect our transition to the Common Core State Standards.”

“The tests have been designed

to better reflect the more complex tasks being asked of students to demonstrate their mastery of learning,” she said.

This year, however, many of those involved in the SBAC Field Testing weren’t ecstatic about the experience. The entire junior class participated, and some, such as Sydney Navid, reacted to the role negatively, for scheduling the exam, as well as the test itself, proved to be unpopular among many members of the Class of

2015.

“The new system shouldn’t have been tested with only one grade, as we lost a week of instruction,” Navid said.

Yet, it seems as if the student body was under the false impression that only Beverly was chosen to perform this task.

“All public high schools statewide had all 11th graders participate in the SBAC Field Test,” Zurbano said. “Some schools, in addition, were selected to par-

ticipate in a scientific sampling of their 9th and 10th graders as well.

We were not among that scientific sampling group.”

The testing occurred from Wednesday, March 26 through Friday, March 28. Juniors with last names ranging between A-K were to miss their second and third periods, and those with surnames ending from L-Z lost their fourth and fifth periods for three days. continued on page

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Red Cross fair attracts 8th graders Danny Licht editor-in-chief

DANNY LICHT

DANNY LICHT

Beverly Vista eighth grader Mason Bergher visited the Red Cross Club’s awareness event at Open House on last Thursday, April 3. “I learned what to do in an earthquake,” he said.

The Red Cross Club set up an emergency-preparedness fair at Open House on Thursday, April 3, featuring a booth, a spinning questions-wheel, prizes and snacks.

“We’re trying to get eighth graders to join the Red Cross Club,” club representative Upasana Mannur said, “and it’s kind of a community-outreach event. So since the parents are coming, they can take information back home to the little siblings. So recruitment and community outreach: check and check.”

In addition to the festivities, the club offered some take-home literature.

“If you win, you get the wonderful prize of a pocket-sized first-aid kit or emergency water, which is good for five years,” continued on page

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Battle of the Bands Airlift event showcases talent Audrey Park staff writer Radio Airlift held Beverly’s first Battle of the Bands on Tuesday, April 1 in the Salter Theatre. There were a total of 11 performances of different music genres ranging from hip-hop to alternative.

Members of Radio Airlift created Battle of the Bands after deciding that they want to create some sort of musical event at the school.

“We wanted to have some sort of musical event at school at some point in the school year so we thought, hey instead of hiring a musician to play or getting a band to come it’d be neat to see all what all the students at Beverly can come up with a do a big show,” Radio Airlift deejay senior James Fast said.

Ceramics teacher Melony Bronder and juniors Cole Plante

and Josh Schenk were chosen as the judges.

“We wanted to have both a teacher and student as judges,” Fast said. “Cole had just got back from his tour, so we asked him and a few of the students in Radio Airlift had Ms. Bronder and knew she was into music so we asked her as well.”

Associated Student Body (ASB) director Mark Mead believed that

the event was “a great way” to bring together students from different parts of campus.

“I thought it was really great A lot of the kids who were performing I didn’t know personally,” Mead said. “It was fun seeing students who I’d seen a million times in the hallways, but don’t know, doing something very different from the norm. continued on page

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AUDREY PARK

Senior Daniel Alvarado played guitar.

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HIGHLIGHTS NEWS APRIL 10, 2014

FIELD TEST

Administration, faculty, students reflect on SBAC test Continued from Page 1 Junior Eddie Ochoa felt that he was “cheated” by the testing schedule, as juniors “need every minute in class they can get.”

“Some teachers, knowing that there is so much work to do junior year, left half of the grade behind and went on teaching,” he said. “It was a waste of a week.”

The bell schedule had to fit in a set of parameters, according to Zurbano, as it had to adhere to constraints such as “instructional minutes, availability of test proctors, [and] testing windows to avoid overlap with AP testing.”

On Wednesday and Thursday, several proctors released students upon completing their exams, while others kept their students for the remainder of the testing period. This staggered exodus of students caused overcrowding in classrooms and noise in the hallways. By Friday, however, the issue was resolved, as all the teachers administering the SBAC practice testing uniformly held their students for the full two hours.

Math teacher Alissa Glass, like many other teachers, looked out for the students. She pointed out that her only concern was that students ought to “be able to go back to their classes as soon as they finished,” which was also the most popular course of action by the test-takers themselves.

The ideal course of action, according to Zurbano, involves “having the instructional minutes available to allow for a late-start schedule where only the students that need to test would be present on campus in the morning, or... designing a full-day special schedule where viable activities can be hosted for non-testing students.”

Her goal, too, is to “minimize loss of instructional time for the testing group.”

As for the system itself, reactions were mixed. Many students reported that they struggled to perform math problems and read long passages on their computers.

“Our attention spans aren’t geared to stare at a computer screen for two hours,” junior Lorien Orpelli said.

In the math section, the SBAC test rolled out a new set of questions, unlike those of the CSTs. Students were challenged to explain each step taken during the solving of a math problem, using language to describe their mathematical process in order to better display their comprehension.

Junior Mike O’Neill believed that students were “prepared to word out the steps of getting to an answer,” but the feeling was not unanimously shared.

“These newer, logic-based questions are great for testing one’s abilities,” junior Olivia Koshy said.

“But I don’t think we were prepared to think in the way for which the test was asking.”

For others, such as Ochoa, problems arose with the task of doing most of the math online, rather than physically.

“There wasn’t enough arm-room or room for scratch paper,” he said. “It made the math part much harder.”

A goal of the administration, according to Zurbano, is to “better prepare the students for the test itself ” in areas such as “the format of the testing environment, the tools available for use, the length of time to be spent for the test [and] the types of questions to be asked of students.”

Junior Natasha Allen found her virtual calculator constantly “freezing.”

The bigger problem, reported by most students interviewed, was their decision not to give their full effort during the exam.

Several juniors admitted that they guessed their responses and wrote inauthentic essays in order to get back to their classes or to move on to more “important” work directly related to their classes.

“There should be incentives to try one’s best,” Koshy said. “[Then] most of the grade would do their best.”

Many of those involved felt that the “Smarter Balanced Assessment System” and the SBAC Field Test were faulty, “pointless” and too foreign in many ways. However, Zurbano sees the purpose in the field testing.

“Students may believe the test was ‘meaningless,’ [but] the structure of test questions, the methods of reply, the amount of time required to complete the test, [and] the format of the student interface and the accessible tools…all needed to be tested by students [in] real-time,” she said.

The SBAC testing procedure is here to stay, and will take the place of CSTs next Spring. Its alignment with common core standards, as well as the efficiency of digitization and the technology of “smart testing,” will bring a new face to standardized testing that students might appreciate down the road.

From the test-takers’ perspective, it looks to be blue skies of only “meaningful” tests for the next takeoff. Beverly, as well as the entire district, is “prepared to roll out this testing format for years to come,” according to Zurbano.

SBAC Q & A What is SBAC and what does it stand for?

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium aims to assess the knowledge and skills of students at the elementary, middle and high school level. The 20132014 year serves as a “field test” to guide any modifications for the rollout in the 2014-2015 school year.

What areas does the test focus on?

Students in the field test are assessed in one or two content areas: English Language Arts/Literacy and Math.

What is the purpose of the SBAC Field Test?

The overall goal is to implement the Common Core State Standards in the oncoming years; the field test serves as a planning tool for subsequent years.

What are some things that are different about this years’ testing?

The Common Core tests those in grades 3-8 and 11. Also, students take the test on computers.

Source: http://sbac.portal.airast.org/ca/field-test-ca/ Images from: www.agr.state.il.us, www.tsl.texas.gov, www.weather.gov, www.troymi.gov

Service Learning, Special Education host prom dress drive Brenda Mehdian staff writer This year’s prom dress drive aimed to help girls and boys from low income areas by collecting prom dresses, mens suits and mens dress shoes for the students’ special night.

In previous years, Service Learning only collected womens apparel and hosted the event on its own. This year, the special education classes asked to join forces with Service Learning for this charitable cause.

“The special education program came up with the idea to join us in holding the drive this year, and I thought that it would be an amazing way for us to reach out and

expand the drive and get more dresses,” committee co-chair Celine Hakimianpour said.

Service Learning and the special education program partnered up with a new organization this year called “A Place Called Home,” (ACPH). This is an organization located in South Central Los Angeles that provides at-risk youth from ages eight to 21 with a secure, positive family environment. APCH not only provides a nutrition, health and well-being program, and also offers educational services, teen services and more.

Prom dresses and mens apparel were donated to girls and boys who had a hard time purchasing

their own apparel due to financial situations and may not have even been able to attend their proms otherwise.

“Service Learning wanted to do this because we know prom is an event all students look forward to, but not all students have the resources for a night that can be quite costly. It is important to us because it is a way to give back to the community, specifically students of our same age group,” committee co-chair Jessica Myers said.

Last year the drive was only able to collect about 10 dresses; however, this year the drive has already gathered up over 40 dresses.

“I think that our promotion for

the drive this year really helped with the popularity of the drive.

Not only did we make signs and post them in hallways around school, but we also made announcements on the P.A. system so the whole student body would know about the drive,” Hakimianpour said.

Myers and Hakimianpour believe that the outcome is a huge improvement from last year and, more importantly, believe that this is a huge accomplishment, not for themselves, but for the students that they will be helping through the success of this drive.

“I personally wanted to be in charge of the drive this year be-

cause I really like to see the direct cause and effect of donations. I love to know that the dresses and suits we donate at school go to underprivileged teens who might be exactly like us but just may be unable to afford prom attire of their own,” Hakimianpour said.

Service Learning’s goals for this event are to have as many dresses, suits and mens dress shoes donated in order to help the most girls and boys possible. The drive began on Monday, Mar. 31 and continued until Tuesday, April 8.

Hakimianpour and Myers hope that next year the drive will generate even more dresses in order to help more underprivileged high school students.

APRIL 21

APRIL 21-MAY 2

APRIL 21

APRIL 22

APRIL 26

Classes resume

Art Show

Dance Company auditions

Make-up Pre-AP Administration

Prom

HIGHLIGHTS NEWS APRIL 10, 2014

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1515 advances to St. Louis, wins Chairman’s Zoe Kenealy staff writer

Courtesy of RICHA VIJAYVERGIYA MorTorq 1515 prepares for the competition at Las Vegas.

Courtesy of RICHA VIJAYVERGIYA The Robotics Business Team displays its second Chairman’s Award.

The school’s robotics team, MorTorq 1515, competed in Las Vegas at the FRC tournament from April 4-5. Team 1515 placed with two awards, one of which serves as a ticket to the St. Louis Championships from April 23-26.

“We won Chairman’s and the Hard Hat award. The Hard Hat award was given to us for our safety and neatness, but Chairman’s promises that we will be moving onto St. Louis so the whole team is really stoked,” President Michael Simozar said. “Winning both awards was such an honor and Chairman’s was awarded last, so it was really intense.”

The Chairman’s Award is considered the most prestigious award in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). According to Kim, the award is known to go to the team that best embodies the message of FIRST through spreading STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education and bettering the community. For 1515, the Las Vegas competition was the second year in a row that the team was awarded with Chairman’s Award.

According to junior 1515 member Gabriella, the team feels that it was able to receive the Chairman’s Award for the second in the year in a row due to its remarkable representation of what it is that FIRST stands for. In compe-

tition, the team exhibits qualities of teamwork and love for the field of engineering through its attention to detail in matches, Shofet mentioned. Winning the Chairman’s Award is indicative of MorTorq 1515’s superior skills nationwide not only engineering-wise, but also work-ethic wise.

“Winning the Chairman’s Award means so much more than meets the eye,” Shofet said. “It proves a number of [our] capabilities and we are really proud.

I think the judges can see us for more than just our robot and a two-year Chairman’s achievement proves that.”

The two-day competition kept 1515 members on their toes, as, despite the initial success in 1515’s matches with a 3-2 start, the team earned a final score of 3-8 overall.

“It felt like we were yoyoing throughout the competition, but that’s what kept us so excited and what kept the games intense,” Shofet said. “I think because of a few defeats, when we were awarded with Chairman’s and the Hard Hat in the end, it made it all the more sweeter.”

According to team members, 1515 plans to spend its time leading up to St. Louis working toward strengthening the team’s work ethic and overall ability to demonstrate knowledge of robotics. If the performance trend continues from past two competitions, 1515 is set for success in Missouri.

in the headlines LOCAL Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge John A. Torribio ruled on April 2 that transit officials were legally allowed to tunnel under Beverly Hills High School for the Westside subway extension. According to the LA Times, the construction of the nine-mile line, projected to open in 2035, can proceed as predicted.

NATIONAL President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will be in Texas on April 9 for the Ft. Hood Memorial Service. According to the Washington Post, Army Spec. Ivan A. Lopez went on a shooting rampage, killing at least three and injuring dozens, before taking his own life.

INTERNATIONAL Oscar Pistorius, South African sprint runner, took the stand this week. Pistorius is facing charges that he murdered his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius claims he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder. Pistorius is known for his achievements in both single below-knee amputee and able-body athletic events.

Madrigals perform in ‘Windy City’ Red Cross Club teaches emergency preparedness at Open House Eunice Kim staff writer

Madrigals went to East High School in Chicago, Ill., to attend the Heritage Music Festival March 4 through 7. The Heritage Music Festival allows choirs, bands and orchestras from all over the U.S. to be heard and judged by music professors.

Madrigals performed various songs including “Proba me Deus”

by Orlando di Lasso and “Be Music, Night” by Bradley Ellingboe.

They won a Gold rating for their performance and second place in the choir category.

“Gold rating qualifies us to sing at gold-level festivals next year or sing at a special festival at Carnegie Hall in New York City,” junior Amanda Christovich said.

According to co-president senior Deven Martin, Madrigals enjoyed performing “The Battle of Jericho,” which is a traditional American spiritual about going to a war. “[My favorite piece to perform is] ‘The Battle of Jericho’ as it’s fast, fun and intense,” sophomore Scott Senior said.

Other Madrigals felt that some song selections were less fun to perform. “[My least favorite song is] ‘Proba Me Deus’ because it’s slow and written in old Latin, and there are not too many dynamics,” Martin said.

After the performance, Madrigals visited many sites around Chicago, including universities and museums. They attended the Museum of Science and Indus-

try, where the Madrigals learned about the history of industry in Chicago. Madrigals also attended the Gangster Tour.

“We went to the Gangster Tour because we wanted to learn some of the history of Chicago,” Choir Director Ethan Smith said.

While in Chicago, Madrigals enjoyed each other’s company as they explored city outside of Beverly.

“Just being with the amazing people [is my most favorite part of the trip] because we were really far from where we live and we had to entertain ourselves and keep each other’s company,” Martin said.

A small group from Madrigals will be performing at the Apple Awards Evening on Wednesday, May 7.

Courtesy of SHANA KHERADYAR A group of Madrigals poses in front of Cloud Gate, more popularly known as “The Bean”, in Chicago, Ill.

DANNY LICHT

Continued from Page 1 club sponsor Molly Peterson said. “They also have brochures for families.”

She added, “They’ve been very excited all year about learning and doing more about how to help the community in terms of being prepared.”

Beverly Vista eighth-grader Lilla Sabbah enjoyed the event.

“It was fun,” she said. “I learned how many escape routes you should have in case of emergency.”

She said she plans on joining the club.

“It’s interesting,” she said.

Her classmate Mason Bergher learned “what to do when an earthquake happens if I’m in a wheelchair,” but would he join?

“Maybe, maybe.”

Despite this one eighth-grader’s

unsureness, Mannur was happy with the results. “A lot of people have come up so far, and we’re looking forward to more people coming up,” she said.

In addition to the Preparedness Fair, the Red Cross Club has held other events this year.

“We’ve done puppet shows for earthquake safety and fire safety.

We’ve gone to shelters, helping people arrange meals for the homeless,” Mannur said. “We’ve done canvassing, which is going door to door and asking people if they have first-aid kits and giving them first-aid kits if they don’t.”

Peterson said these events teach her club members important doit-yourself skills.

“They learned they can put something on all by themselves,” she said, “because all I did was say, ‘Sure, go ahead.’”

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HIGHLIGHTS NEWS APRIL 10, 2014

Radio Airlift hosts Battle of Bands Prom season to culminate at Petersen Auto

Continued from Page 1 I came to appreciate some of the artistic endeavors that people are involved in. Their creativity, their sense of humor, all things I generally don’t get to see.”

One of the performances that stood out to Mead was the one of his former student Benji Solemani.

“He was in my class in freshman year so I’ve known him his entire high school career,” Mead said.

“He’s always coming in and talking about his music and I appreciate his passion so I was thrilled to see him perform.”

After initially hearing about the battle from Mead, Solemani wanted to show his “poetic talent on the mic” and decided to “give it a shot.” Solemani performed three original songs: “I Got You,” “Dark Eve” and “Reality Check.”

“The only thoughts that were rapidly racing through my mind [while I was on stage] were just remembering the bars I was supposed to say, but more importantly, I just wanted to prove to everyone that I’m not a rapper, I’m a poetic hero,” Solemani said.

After his performance, Solemani said that he felt he had accomplished his goal.

“I proved to a lot of people that I’m not a joke of an artist, and that I’m tremendously blessed and talented, as well as that I will get the word out that I am not an artist to joke with,” Solemani said. “And to all the people that think I’m a rapper, I’m not. I’m a poet, nothing more, nothing less.”

Zoe Kenealy staff writer

AUDREY PARK Seafox, comprised of seniors Mason Segal, Wylie Pendarvis and substitute senior Anthony Lofaso, performs at Battle of the Bands.

Bronder, who judged the battle, thought the entire event was “amazing.”

“I loved it. It was really cool.”

Bronder said. “It was in a nice intimate setting in the Salter Theatre and it was just different from anything I had seen done on campus. It was really cool to see all of the types of music and musicians we had and there was a lot of talent, so that was interesting.”

Bronder was equally impressed with all the performances.

“I thought Nicole Leibmans’ performance at the very end, which wasn’t even part of the battle, was amazing,” Bronder said.

“I thought the last band performing was amazing, the first band was amazing, the one in the middle with Hans was amazing, the moon song was amazing and the rapper was really good too. Everything was such a different vibe so I can’t pick one specific band that

stood out.”

Junior Alexandra Del Rosario believes that the battle “went great” and was “surprised to see that there were so many students who were musically talented.”

“I was so surprised to see that there were so many students who were musically talented and I was excited to see each student perform,” she said. “They were all courageous enough to go in front of an audience and play.”

Fast was pleased with both the audience and performances and is confident that the overall event was a success.

“We had about a 100 people there,” Fast said. “We weren’t expecting that and you know sometimes things don’t go the way you expect them to and it’s kind of nice when they do.”

The battle ended with sophomore and host Bennett Gershwin declaring himself the winner.

Prom will be held at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Saturday, April 26. When students arrive at the historical museum located on Wilshire Boulevard, they will notice two distinct features that separate the Petersen Automotive Museum from other automotive museums: the Streetscape diorama and the rotating exhibit spaces, according to thepetersen. org. For now, prom season has manifested itself on campus and ticket availability was extended in the student store and online, prompting more prom proposals around campus.

“I saw a lot of promposals this year and some of them were so creative. I don’t know how people think of these,” junior Myra Molloy said.

Molloy assisted her friend with his promposal, in which the girl developed a photogram of the word “Prom” in the darkroom during their photography class together.

In order to attend prom, students must have permission from the school, as prom counts as one of many senior activities, which are all considered privileges. To stay off senior probation, which is the way in which a student earns the right to participate in senior activities, he or she must maintain a passing grade in five classes and refrain from any need of disciplin-

ary action. In this way, prom, in addition to numerous other senior activities, discourages “senioritis.”

“I think it’s important for the seniors to remember that colleges can rescind you at any time after acceptance and a lot of students forget that,” senior Maya Steinberg said. “I think events like prom, that make students keep to an academic and disciplinary standard, are both helpful and a great deal of fun. I have been looking forward to prom for as long as I can remember so that just makes me want to try even harder in school.”

Traditionally, prom night includes a pre-prom, not affiliated with the school, but nonetheless a popular option among prom attendees. At pre-prom, students take pictures with their dates, friends and family before they arrive at the venue. These photos are often shared on social media.

“Pre-prom is actually the part that I look forward to most because of the pictures,” senior Mason Segal said. “Going to prom is great I’m sure and I am looking forward to it, but I feel as if the main event in a lot of people’s minds is the pre-prom.”

Prom will start at 7 p.m. and end at 11 p.m., leaving the students free to spend the rest of their nights elsewhere after their memorable few hours of dinner and dancing.

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HIGHLIGHTS CULTURE APRIL 10, 2014

Courtesey of MILES MCFLY

Miles Mcfly, Dave Dillinger, Joseph Perez and Bridge sit together in front of a ‘fingersxcrossed’ neon sign wearing their brand.

Audrey James-Anenih staff writer Audrey Park staff writer Beverly alumni Miles Mcfly, Dave Dillinger, Joseph Perez and Bridge Perez, along with Maria Rubin, founded FingersxCrossed (FXC), a “collective of talented individual that came together to form a lifestyle brand.”

Although four of the founders graduated from Beverly, they didn’t know each other until after graduation. McFly graduated in 2005, Dillinger in 2008, Bridge in 2009 and Joseph Perez in 2011.

“Each one of us has a specific

talent and passion that benefits the next person,” McFly said. “The site actually started out as a blog with just pictures on it, but we have since transformed it into a site full of editorials.”

Maria Rubin, who McFly describes as the “mother of the group,” manages Bridge’s music career and is the “mastermind” behind the site.

“The second Maria [Rubin] came up with it, I instantly said that I knew how to make [a website] and with help from Bridge, David and Joseph we designed what you see today,” Mcfly said.

The website was initially created as a platform for all of the respective members to release whatever projects they were each working on.

“If Bridge is going to release a song, we have the exclusive site to find it on,” Mcfly said. “If Dave Dillinger is working on something in fashion, we have the exclusive drop on it. Our list of friends goes on forever, so we have so much exclusive content to release.”

Mcfly believes that all of the members have their own individual style, therefore readers can “tell who wrote what without

even seeing the author’s name.”

“Dave is always on some next level stuff with his posts. I don’t even know how he finds some of his content. Bridge is pretty short and sweet with his posts. He’s always finding some new music to vibe to or some model from out of obscurity,” Mcfly said. “Joseph will always find the newest car that’s faster than the last one or some mansion that he plans on living in one day. I’m kind of all over the place with my posts. I try to update it as much as possible so the viewer always has something new to see.”

A majority of Mcfly’s posts is influenced by his hometown of Los Angeles.

“LA has a big influence on what I post. I definitely don’t limit my search to LA but if I do see something from LA then I always show love,” McFly said. “Nothing makes me more proud than to see people from the city I love doing well, especially if it’s somebody I know or grew up with. I would say that I post a lot of west coast influenced music on the site that maybe some sites on the east coast wouldn’t post. And I love palm trees, anything with a palm tree in it I’ll post.”

The beauty of the website, according to Mcfly, is that the “target audience is so broad.”

“We post and promote all types of things. Music, art and fashion can be faceless as well as ageless,”

McFly said. “There really isn’t any one group of people that we are trying to reach. I know I have some of my friends’ little siblings as well as parents checking the site everyday for updates.

Senior Zoe Tran was impressed by both the content and design of the website.

“It covers a lot interesting and relevant things,” Tran said. “It’s really organized and nice to look at. It’s cool.”

The members of FXC are currently working on designing their own brand of clothing and accessories.

“We hope to have a pop-up shop this summer in Los Angeles and we plan on launching our online store when the merchandise is ready,” McFly said. “We also have a cool opportunity in the works right now with a big brand so fingers crossed that works out.”

McFly hopes that FXC will someday become a worldwide brand.

“We want the collective to collaborate with some of our favorite brands and artists,” McFly said.

“We want to launch a clothing line as well as a production company for music videos, short films, artists, musicians and photographers. It would be great if FXC became a million view per day platform for people to promote themselves.”

Students can view the website at fingersxcrossed.com.

As seen on beverlyhighlights.com

ASB hosts annual blood drive, students turned away

A staff member takes senior Allison Klemes’s pulse as she gets prepared to donate blood.

Juliette Deutsch staff writer ASB teamed up with UCLA for its annual blood drive on April 1. However, due to an unexpected illness among staff members, students were turned away from donating blood.

“Basically what happened is the

UCLA blood drive told us that six staff members came down with an illness and were unable to come down,” sophomore Justin Friedman said. “We’ve just been spacing out when we accept people. We had to close down a couple of times so that we could get caught up.”

ASB members, according to Fried-

JULIETTE DEUTSCH

A staff member checks senior Evan Rennie’s blood pressure while he listens to his iPod.

man, worked to their best ability and used all the available staff.

“Of course there was nothing we could do to prevent it,” Friedman said. “Next year we just have to make sure to have back up and try to confirm more with UCLA to have people fill in.”

Every year, ASB sets out to collect

190 units of blood. However, due to the unexpected shortage of staff, it was unable to fulfill its goal.

“Our class goal is to have 300 sign ups to fulfill the 190 units of blood goal. Due to the short staff we had to turn students away which hurt our goal of getting 190 units of blood,” sophomore Isaac Spector said.

“This year we had 298 sign ups plus walkins, but because of the whole dilemma with understaffing there were many people we had to turn away because we didn’t have space for them,” Spector said.

UCLA staff members were not available to comment due to the hospital’s privacy policy.

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HIGHLIGHTS CULTURE APRIL 10, 2014

Prom 2014

The Insiders Guide

Juliette Deutsch social media director Dami Kim culture editor Besides finding a date for Prom, the girls’ and guys’ insider guide to Prom will help you get the most out of your Prom experience. Listed below are our recommendations for all your Prom necessities.

For Girls The Dress: Rent The Runway: renttherunway.com Prom dresses can become pretty pricey at the last minute. You might resort to renting a dress for that night instead of buying an overpriced gown. Rent The Runway is a website that rents dresses to customers for any occasion. As the name states, one can rent a dress that has been seen on one of the lastest fashion week runways.

To go along with your stylish dress of choice, the website also gives the option to rent jewelry and shoes. The delivery period is four days and once Prom is over, you just need to send the dress back.

The Makeup: Blushington Makeup and Beauty Lounge 8591 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA You can achieve the perfect prom makeup can be done by the professional makeup artists at Blushington. At this trendy, affordable spot, one can choose from six of their already designed makeup looks or customize it. A full face makeup costs is a set price of $40. Additionally, Blushington uses the highest end brands such as Stila, Kevyn Aucoin and Benefit. You can book your appointment online or walk in.

The Hair: Drybar 8379 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA The Drybar is a blow dry bar that is created to only do blowouts. The simple idea no cuts, no color, just blowouts is perfect if you’re on the go or need your hair looking flawless for a special oc-

casion. Every blow out at Drybar costs $40 (wash included). One may choose from their special menu of styles specifically termed after classic bar drinks. The styles include: Straight Up, Manhattan, The Cosmo, The Mai Tai, The Cosmo Tai Southern Comfort and the Up-Tini. Drybar has recently come out with a line of its own products which are used on every client.

For Guys The Tuxedo In contrast to that of the girls, shopping for prom tuxedo may seem underrated. However, this is not the case for most guys: buying a suit for one night can also become pricey and worthless, especially if the tuxedo will most likely not fit them later. Renting a suit remains as an affordable, efficient option for guys who still want to impress the night without borrowing and wearing a handme-down.

Men’s Wearhouse: tuxedo. menswearhouse.com Men’s Wearhouse, known for its suit rentals, carry a separate department just for prom. The tab on their website leads to an individual run website that allows one to either choose between suggested styles or build-your-own look. The “style playbook” page displays 12 selected styles that are distinctive and unique for this prom season, while the “build your own tux” page allows one to choose among various styles of designer coats, shirts, shoes, ties, jewelry, vests other accessories.

Appointment will be scheduled or one can drop by the store to get fitted and pick up the tux two days before prom. There are more

than 900 locations nationwide.

(The closest store to the Beverly Hills area is on La Cienega Boulevard, next to the Johnny Rockets across from the Beverly Center Mall.) Prices for tux rentals start at $59.99 and if you register, you not only get $30 off your prom tux rental but you will also be entered to win both a Hard Rock Hotel All Inclusive Getaway and a trip to Camp Jam in the city of your choice. Additionally, you can get free chips and guacamole at any Chipotle, when you book your tux rental. The #MyPromBlog section of menswearhouse.com present tips, videos and links to other partnered companies to help guide guys plan the perfect proposal and order limos and flowers for a cheaper price.

Elite Tuxedo 2074 Westwood Blvd., West Los Angeles, CA Elite Tuxedo has been serving Beverly students for the past few years and is generally more familiar with students and their needs.

Located close to the city, rental prices for tuxedo can get as low as $39.99 after discount. One of the discounts include a $10 credit towards your rental for every friend you refer. (The coupon for this discount can be found on the back of an ad insert for this issue.) With a rental package of $120 or more, you also have the chance to win a free La Vegas vacation at the Riviera Hotel.

Elite Tuxedo offers convenient same day service for last minute sales and rentals. With the latest designer label selection and extensive line of accessories, Elite Tuxedo stands, much like the company’s motto, “a class above the rest.”

DAMI KIM

Prom Reminder When?

April 26, 2014 7:00 p.m.- 11:00 p.m.

Where?

Petersen Automotive Museum 6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036 If your date is in a different grade or school, please turn in the permission form by April 11 to your respective House.

Payment for prom pictures must be paid at the event. You can bring cash, check or credit card. Group photos will be taken at the end of the night.

HIGHLIGHTS COMMENT APRIL 10, 2014

9

College rankings misinform applicants, parents Mabel Kabani editor-in-chief Every September when summer ends and school begins, U.S. News & World Report releases its annual college rankings list. These rankings, published first in 1983, have become the major claim to fame of this otherwise defunct magazine.

Similar to the likes of Forbes’ “50 Most Valuable Sports Teams” and People Magazine’s “Top 100 Most Beautiful Women” lists, U.S. News & World Report releases an “America’s Best College” rankings issue sells about 40 percent more than the magazine’s standard weekly issues, according to the Washington Monthly. On average each year, over 8 million people visit the U.S. News’ website when it releases its new college rankings.

The method behind creating this list is vague enough so that no average reader can quite figure out how these colleges are ranked, but the system, with its publishing of numbers and statistics, seems clear enough to suggest validity. According to the Washington Monthly, a former staff writer who once contributed to the “Best Colleges” issue said that the college rankings are “completely ridiculous, but they totally pay your salary.”

For the past 15 years, the main ranking categories of the magazine have remained consistent: student selectivity, student retention, graduation rates, academic reputation

according to admission deans and university administrators, alumni generosity and faculty quality rated by pay and number of degrees. In short, the most perfect and highest ranking school will be one that is rich, hard to get into, hard to flunk out of and has a spotless reputation.

However, what these lists fail to do is actually inform the readers of how much students learn in college. Of course, the list does give parents and students a rough idea of the selectivity and educational integrity of a college, and the magazine does a good job of distinguishing top schools, like Harvard and the University of Chicago, from schools about a hundred spaces down, like East-West University and Fort Lewis College, but should schools like Middlebury be about 30 spots away from a school like Wesleyan? Should UCLA be higher up in the rankings than NYU? When it comes to broad general categories, the ranking system does fairly well in separating the top tier schools from their counterparts; however, is this ranking system, which is based on money, reputation and selectivity, really legitimate enough to decide such a huge gap between rankings of schools such as Washington University in St. Louis and Emory?

Should a student really decide where he or she wants to spend the next four years of his or her life based on a numerical value that is slightly higher than that of anoth-

er, simply because one school has a higher average SAT score of incoming freshman than the other? I don’t think so.

Rather than place importance on the culture and quality of education received at a particular college, the rankings take advantage of the anxiety students feel toward college and offer to make the intricate and complicated nature of applying to college appear straightforward. By placing importance on arbitrary numbers such as “alumni giving rank” and six-year graduation rate rather than qualitative information that would give applicants insight into the type of community and learning environment they are about to enter, these ranked lists act like teachers who grade essays based solely on grammar and punctuation rather than the actual content of the assignment. Rankings should strive to delve deeper into the complexities of the culture and nature of particular schools; this way, not only will students have a better understanding of the schools they are applying to, but also that shift away from the importance of numbers pushes colleges to do the same. Though seemingly ideal, it is impossible for lists to take each applicant’s interest into account when ranking a school.

The only solution seems to be for society to move away from placing so much importance on college rankings and for individuals to rely on their own research to determine

the best fit school for them. Because of the importance that people put on college rankings, schools that strive to go to the top often focus only on aspects of their school that will be reflected in rankings, such as class sizes, rather than other aspects, like internship opportunities, that don’t factor in, according to the New York Times. What’s even worse, the Washington Post reports, is that many colleges (the most recent and notorious incident is related to Claremont McKenna) send in false data to magazines in the hopes of improving their rankings. When prestigious schools have to sacrifice their moral integrity to move up a few numbers on an unofficial list that is published in one magazine, it is evident that this system of college rankings is not only flawed, but that it also encourages immoral behavior.

Furthermore, rankings put people under the false assumption that the college they attend determines their intelligence, their future and their place in the world. Believing that people will think better of a person attending a higher-ranked school fortifies the myth that the college a person attends is the sole factor in determining his or her success.

With hundreds of undergraduate programs in America that offer more classes, clubs and internships than a student could possibly need, college is more about what an individual makes of the school rather than what the school can do for

the individual. There is no period of time in someone’s life in which he/she can spend so much time to develop and work on him/herself.

And if a student is actually going to spend so much time and money on a school, why not make sure that it is one that suits the particular preferences of the student? College is such an intricate and personal process that ranking it based solely on numbers, and not the subjective preference of each applicant in the world, is oftentimes unfair to students whose parents believe that the list posted on the U.S. News & World Report website is absolute law.

Instead of only relying on lists and rankings, students should be sitting with their parents and counselors and looking into schools at which they feel they will flourish, using the “America’s Best College” list as a starting point. By applying to and attending a college that you love for what it offers and represents rather than the number it sits at on a list, you as a student and as a person will understand that numbers and ranks do not determine the outcome and success of your life. And by attending a school that has programs that you never tire speaking of, course catalogs that cause you to tingle with excitement and school activities and fight songs that you’ve memorized by heart in the hopes of becoming a spirited individual on campus, you are allowing yourself to love your school and just be happy.

Artificial sweeteners may be deadly, but I don’t care Zoe Kenealy staff writer As a friend of mine sipped her Splendasweetened iced coffee, she researched the negative side effects that the small, pink, zero-calorie packet comes with. As she sipped, she read the long litany of symptoms that accompany sipping a beverage with a packet of Splenda, symptoms that range from severe depression to an increased level in hepatic enzymes. My friend, however, was unphased by these tallies and did not stop drinking until she read the last consequence at the end of the list. This side effect was beyond what anyone would wish for upon his or her worst enemy: weight gain.

The flawed logic behind my friend’s decision and those of millions of Americans can be linked to the fact that humans, as can be observed as early as in one’s infancy, inherently lack deferred gratification (the ability to resist temptation of instant gratification in order to ensure a future that promises greater rewards). Consequently, it is human nature to be on a constant prowl for shortcuts and “easy ways out.”

The demand for instant satisfaction serves as the grounds behind the startling success of fad diets, carcinogenic diet sodas and and “miracle” weightloss pills. Attesting to this is

the ever-popular Cabbage Soup Diet, wherein Cabbage-Soup dieters spend a week essentially drinking their body weight in vegetable broth. Clearly a rather unhealthful and temporary solution to body-image dissatisfaction, the Cabbage Soup Diet stands today as a popular option for dropping those last stubborn 10 pounds. Even with the knowledge we have of the miracle diet market products’ negative health effects, our lack of deferred gratification diminishes our ability to follow through with responsible decision making. We put millions of dollars into the pockets of industry heads who knowingly, and very discreetly, sell their cancer-causing “guilt-free” products.

The question we should ask, however, should be whether the miracle diet industry actually rakes in its profit discreetly, or if consumers are simply turning their hopeful heads in the direction of ignorant bliss. Similar to the case of my Splenda-sipping friend, the consumers of this industry will not stop sipping unless the consequences of fad diets, sweet chemicals and carbonated poison prove immediate. Our bodies are made to withstand years of mistreatment before giving out, and while this may be a literal lifesaver in many situations, it encourages the bad decisions that people choose to stop making

only when the repercussions are tangible - perhaps in our kidneys, or in the 20 pounds to be gained after the first 10 pounds are unhealthily lost in a week’s time. The realness of the miracle diet industry products’ long-term health consequences should be taken into account as seriously as every Diet Coke consumer’s fear of extra calories is. However, naturally, it is easier to be instantly gratified and sip the noncaloric, carcinogenic beverage.

Because who actually wants to drink a can of empty calories?

To conclude, I need to admit that as I write this on a relaxing Saturday morning at my favorite cafe, I am eating a bowl of oatmeal. My bowl of oatmeal includes almond milk, a selection of blackberries, blueberries and nuts and a very generous serving of Splenda. I also admit that while I sit here, aware of the depression I may undergo and the weakening of my liver to come, my biggest fear is the possible weight gain

AJ PARRY

the Sucralose will bring my way.

Because I, too, face the struggle of choosing between deferred and instant gratification, or in this case, deferred and instant consequence. The thought of my

possible weight gain does make each bite of oatmeal a tad bitter, but I choose to turn my head because the bitterness may merely be the odd taste that these artificial sugar products come with.

10

HIGHLIGHTS COMMENT APRIL 10, 2014

2048’s psychological machinations tempt addiction Max Stahl comment editor If I asked you what two to the 11th power was, you’d probably have to stop and think about it. Or you’d pull out your calculator. That’s all right; I don’t really care how good you are at arithmetic. You’d punch 211 into your TI-84 (because if you don’t have a TI-84, you’re not doing real math), and it’d spit out a number you’ve almost certainly become very familiar with over the past month.

That’s because a little over a month ago, on March 9, 19-yearold programmer Gabriele Cirulli launched 2048, a free, opensource computer game that has since gone viral and spawned hundreds of imitators. In the game, numbered tiles appear in a four-by-four grid. The object is simple: combine like powers of two (e.g., two and two, four and four, eight and eight, etc.) to produce the next-highest power, moving the tiles up and down or side to side until you reach 2048.

With each move, another tile is randomly added to the grid. You lose when the grid has filled up and there are no more possible moves. It’s a relatively simple game. Moreover, it’s a math game. And there’s a good chance you’re addicted to it.

I don’t blame you. Heck, I’ve been playing it while writing this article. (Yes, to a large ex-

tent this article was an excuse to play 2048 and call it work.)

The allure of the game has been compared to that of Flappy Bird, 2048’s viral antecedent. Both are simple, easily replayable and challenging. For my part, I’ve never gotten past the 1024 tile, despite roughly 50 attempts at the game. As with Flappy Bird, 2048 challenges players to keep improving their scores, gradually opening itself up to the players as they gain experience.

And certainly that’s something that keeps people rooted to the game. But there’s something else at play here, something Flappy Bird never had. 2048, strangely enough, is relatable to us.

Granted, not relatable the way an Arcade Fire album or a Judd Apatow movie is relatable, but insofar as an array of numbered tiles darting across a computer screen can elicit any sort of an emotional connection, the game does pretty well. Often, the resemblance is subtle.

For instance, there’s the randomness of the new tile that spawns in after every move. This is the aspect of 2048 that we cannot predict or control; it can occupy any empty square on the board, always with the potential to thwart even the most carefully executed plan. As in the virtual world of 2048, the real world (of 2014) is nondeterministic, and very frequently we are reminded we have less control over our

lives than we might like.

Then there’s the sense of growth the game purveys as you start to reach higher and higher numbers, coming ever closer to 2048. It’s fulfilling. It’s progress quantified. The game does a great job setting goals for you and forcing you to consider both preservation and advancement as you juggle two or three clusters of tiles at once. This condition, too, seems to mirror our hectic, goal-ridden lives. We like to believe that we’re constantly building upon our previous selves.

But, of course, these are qualities that many good games possess. What really sets 2048 apart, I think, is its forgiving nature.

Even when the board is filling up and it seems like you’re on the brink of a game over, there’s usually a way out. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve saved myself from defeat at the last minute with a chain of moves that clears up half the board. It happens often, and it’s exhilarating every time.

Thus 2048 has constructed a world that follows many of the patterns of ordinary life. It’s presented to us a world that feels real, that feels like it un-

derstands. But the truth is that 2048 has deceived us. Its world, so enticing that we can’t help but return to it again and again, is an ideal, a skewed and simplified reality. This can only be expected of a computer game, but it is an important precaution nonetheless. 2048 produces a sort of single-mindedness that could thrive only in a limited environment, like that of a video game.

In real life, such unwavering resolve is perilous. In real life, output is not proportional to effort applied. 2048 teaches that if you try again and again to attain that one prevailing goal, you will see progress; you will build on your past successes; you will come closer.

And that’s a dangerous lesson to learn, because in many cases it’s simply not true.

Anyone who’s ever courted a boy or girl they’re interested in can attest to that.

I fear I’m coming off too cynically. Contrary to what I’ve implied above, I strongly believe that we should have goals and that the prospect of improvement is worth the effort. What worries me is the expectation that games like 2048 foster in us. They spoil us. We spend so much time playing them that, little by little, the

“2048 has deceived us.

Its world. so enticing that we can’t help but return to it again and again, is an ideal, a skewed and simplified reality.”

modes of thinking they demand seep into our everyday interactions. They lead us to believe that there’s always a way out, that there’s always a second chance, that if we try hard enough and learn the right tactics we can get what we want. And sometimes we just can’t. Cirulli did well to introduce elements of randomness to his game, but ultimately the effort falls short. The player still has too much control. In real life, our influence over the outcome of anything we’re involved in is severely limited by outside factors. I don’t advocate that you stop playing 2048, or any video games for that matter. What I advocate is awareness. Be conscious of how the game might be shaping your disposition; divest it of its subliminal power. 2048 serves as a pleasant escape into a well ordered and comprehensible world, but when we let the patterns of that world affect our behavior everywhere else, we neglect the chaos which pervades our reality. We come to expect too much.

Highlights Mabel Kabani and Danny Licht editors-in-chief

Jessica Lu news editor

Max Stahl

comment editor

Dami Kim

The downsides of visiting colleges too soon Marguerite Alberts spotlight editor College season is upon us. Notifications of acceptances and rejections have flown in and now seniors are faced with the tough choice of where they will spend the next two years, at least. As the year winds down and I reflect on the culmination of my high school career, I have realized quite a few things that I wish I had recognized as I went through the college process.

I should have listened to my father’s advice and never have visited any schools before applying. Many people will balk at this, demanding to know how they could possibly choose which schools to apply to without ever having seen them.

Easy: research. The world is at our fingertips and by Googling only a few words, we can receive plenty of facts about any school.

There are a bunch of websites that will narrow down your college search and help you decide which schools you should look into by presenting information and opinions regarding each.

Counselors will advocate the use of Naviance and the College Board website, but I personally found College Prowler to be most useful. Also, after deciding which schools most interest you, you can visit the school’s website which will go into even more depth about the programs and facilities they have. Additionally, the college center on Beverly’s campus has hundreds of brochures for your appraisal, and your counselors will undoubtedly have advice to give to you about which colleges you should consider applying to. You don’t need to see a college to hear all about their attributes and failings.

After finding which colleges catch your eye, it is important to remember that you may not get into the school of your choice.

Not only do you have to pick the school, but they have to pick you, too. Flying and driving across the country, looking at schools that won’t necessarily accept you, is an incredible waste of money.

Paying for flights, renting cars, filling up the gas tank, booking hotel rooms and making reservations at restaurants are all expen-

“After finding which colleges catch your eye, it is important to remember that you may not get into the school of your choice.

Not only do you have to pick the school, but they have to pick you, too. ”

sive activities, especially considering the fact that some of these schools won’t take you.

Furthermore, visiting colleges just sets you up for heartbreak.

For example, for the last four years I had been reading about the University of Washington and I fell in love with the idea of going there. At the beginning of last summer, my father gave in to my pleading and we took a family vacation to Seattle; the main purpose of the trip was so that I could finally see, in person, what I had been dreaming about for so long. Immediately, I felt connected to the school, and there was no doubt in my mind that it was where I was meant to be. However, I didn’t realize that this love affair was completely one-sided.

Just because you develop an attachment to a school it doesn’t mean that the school develops an attachment to you. So when my rejection came in the mail, I was shocked. I couldn’t stop crying for three days. Looking back now, I wish we hadn’t visited UW because that attachment wouldn’t have been so cemented in my brain and I would have been more open to some of the many other amazing schools out there.

Eventually, I recognized that it didn’t matter that the University of Washington wasn’t as in love with me as I thought, because I got into a lot of other great schools that did want me.

However, that isn’t to say that

visiting schools isn’t important.

Once you are accepted, it is important to visit your options in order to ensure that you make the choice that is best for you.

Visiting schools allows you to experience the campus on a much more personal level and lets you interact with actual people who go to the school rather then faceless commentators on the internet.

This past weekend, I visited the University of Colorado Boulder for Accepted Students Day. Though hesitant at first, I quickly realized that Boulder will most likely be a much better place for me than Washington ever could have been. And if it isn’t, so what? I can always transfer.

When I arrived home from Colorado, I found the letter I had written to myself in Mr. Elitzur’s eighth grade science class waiting for me on my bed. I knew something in eighth grade that I had forgotten in high school. The closing sentence said, “It doesn’t matter where I go that much as long as I Iearn the correct things and I learn what I want to learn.”

Also, something that I try to live by is to hope for the best, but expect the worst. Not waiting to visit a school made me forget both of these principles.

As the saying goes, “patience is a virtue,” and it is a trait that you will need during the application process, but also when deciding when to visit a college.

culture editor

Marguerite Alberts spotlight editor

Arman Zadeh and Jackson Prince sports editors

Michelle Banayan graphics editor

Robert Katz and Dani Klemes web editors-in-chief

Juliette Deutsch social media director

Braden Bochner, Audrey James-Anenih, Zoe Kenealy, Eunice Kim, Brenda Mehdian and Audrey Park staff writers

Nicole Leibman, Audrey Park, Sasha Park and AJ Parry cartoonists

Gaby Herbst adviser ­— The mission of Highlights is to deliver community-relevant news in a timely manner while adhering to professional ethics.

Highlights is a forum for student expression that is produced by the Advanced Journalism class of Beverly Hills High School, 241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Letters to the editor may be sent to beverlyhighlights@gmail.com.

Visit beverlyhighlights.com Follow @bhhighlights on Twitter and Instagram.

Ads are not endorsed by BHUSD. Beverly Highlights is sponsored by PTSA and BHEF.

11

HIGHLIGHTS SPORTS APRIL 10, 2014

Freshman Gaon gets starting nod, follows brother Jessica Lu news editor Third baseman and pitcher Grant Gaon has played baseball since he was six, and now starts on the varsity baseball team.

Gaon believes that his efforts in improving his game enabled him to land a spot on the varsity team as a ninth grader.

“I worked hard, and that’s why I start,” he said.

Assistant Coach Gregg Riesenberg said Gaon joined the team after basketball season ended, taking a couple of weeks to get accustomed to baseball.

It was Gaon’s prior experience that enabled him to stand out to the coaches.

“He was a kid who really shined,” Riesenberg said. “A couple of weeks into the season we gave him the opportunity to practice and play with JV and varsity and he did quite well.”

A couple of games into the season, Gaon started as third baseman in a varsity baseball game, and according to Riesenberg, “did very well.”

“He gives more options as far as lineups and what’s good for the time,” Riesenberg said.

Catcher Jackson Martin felt that Gaon’s game has been improving throughout preseason

and season.

“Grant has done a great job,” he said. “He’s really developed a lot and exceed a lot of expectations.”

Pitcher and outfielder Maxwell Martin said that Gaon’s move up to varsity accounts for the team’s 7-2 record. In addition, according to Jackson, Gaon added to the team dynamic with his skills and teamwork.

“We have a lot of fun with Grant on the team and call him ‘Dippy,’” Jackson said.

Riesenberg also found Gaon to be a positive presence on the team.

“He’s always willing to listen to coaches, works hard and always is appreciative,” he said.

Grant is following his older brother Zach’s path; Zach carried the same position on the team before graduating last year.

“I thought he had a great career at Beverly and wanted to follow his footsteps, but I have higher goals,” he said.

He added that his brother helped him get into the game of baseball.

“He showed me how to play and how to play it right,” he said.

Riesenberg also coached Zach,

and though he believes the two are different players, he can see their similarities.

“They both love baseball and work really hard,” he said.

Jackson felt that Zach had an impact on Gaon’s game.

“He’d told me that going to Dodger games with his brother has really improved his play at third base,” Jackson said. “Like his brother Zach, he models his game after veteran dodger player Juan Uribe, the third baseman.”

Overall, Martin feels that the brothers are strong players.

“Grant has a lot of potential,” he said. “He is playing really well against hard competition.

Zach was one of our best players last year and Grant’s going to be the future of the team in a couple of years.”

Riesenberg sees potential for Gaon to play in college.

“He has a lot of desire to play,” he said. “If he works hard, he has potential to possibly play at the next level.”

For now, Gaon is focused on finishing the rest of the season strongly.

“I want to win; that’s all I want,” he said. “[I will] do anything I can to make this team win.”

JACKSON PRINCE

Gaon practices with the team at La Cienega Park on April 7.

‘Baseball Swing’ concert performs at Annenberg Audrey James staff writer Baseball Swing hails the attachment between baseball and music with a concert featuring more than 2,000 images and videos from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum forming connections between the music played by the All-Star Baseball Jazz Band.

Baseball Swing is a musical that presents a nine-piece jazz band performing baseball hits such as “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” “Say Hey,” “Baseball Boogie” and “Knock It Out of the Park.” Sang

by a quartet of singers, Adrian Zmed, Terri White, Terron Brooks and Angela Pupello, and an announcer, played by Fred Willard. The four singers also act out scenes during the entirety of the musical. From spectators in the stands to a batter getting ready to make a home-run, the actors play out all of the aspects of the game, making the audience feel like they’re in Dodger Stadium.

The musical is co-produced and co-commissioned by the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Baseball Music Project. The Baseball

Music Project was founded by a group of professional musicians who are passionate baseball fans and hope to foster greater awareness of the cultural lineage and historical significance of music written about baseball.

Those who were weary of how entertaining the musical would be, because they aren’t captivated by the game of baseball, would have had a great time at the show with the array of cheerfully spirited singing dancing. With the light heartedness of the band’s jazz music and the spirit you’d expect from being in Dodger Stadium,

Baseball Swing can be single handedly described as a jubilant musical that calls attention to the importance of baseball’s influence on Americans from the early 1900s. But is able to highlight the game with musical excellence that keeps even the youngest of audiences dancing in their seats.

Lou Moore, Executive Director of The Wallis, spoke to the Beverly Hills Patch about how the musical is able to entertain diverse audiences, from the youngest to the oldest members of a family with its kindred charm.

“Baseball Swing is weekend of

concerts for the whole family to have fun and celebrate the great American pastime,” Moore said.

“I was amazed to find that there are hundreds of songs written over the past decades about baseball and a few of the sport’s greatest players and we are happy to share a few of them with our audiences here at The Wallis.

Baseball Swing, a part of the Jack Elliott Family Concert Series, had four performances from April 4-6, 2014, in the Bram Goldsmith Theater in the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Upcoming Games Baseball

Softball

Fri., April 11 vs. El Segundo

Thurs. , April 10 vs. Morningside

Fri., April 11 vs. Peninsula

Thurs., April 24 vs. Morningside

Tues., April 29 vs. Hawthorne

Wed. , April 23 vs. Mira Costa

Thurs., May 1 vs. Hawthorne

Fri., May 9 vs. Alumni

Wed., April 30 vs. Downey

Boys Lacrosse Boys Volleyball

Boys Tennis

Track/Field

Fri., April 10 vs. Inglewood

Thurs. , April 24 Thurs. , May 1 vs. Inglewood Ocean League Meet Tues. , April 22 Wed., April 30 vs. Morningside vs. Culver Girls Lacrosse Tues., May 6 Wed., May 7 Fri. , April 25 vs. Samo Ocean League vs. Culver Singles CIF begins week of May 12

12

HIGHLIGHTS SPORTS APRIL 10, 2014

Basbeball defeats St. Margaret’s in double header Dami Kim culture editor The varsity baseball team, which was then 5-5 in season, won both games of a doubleheader on April 2 against St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, then 6-2. The team won by a large margin 8-2 its first game while the game was neck and neck in the second. However, Beverly still secured the win 9-8.

Though St. Margaret’s scored first in the first inning, Beverly responded with three runs to take the lead.

With no errors, the team pushed through by scoring in the fifth inning and scoring four in the sixth inning to seal the win.

Every member of the team contributed to the team’s win. Junior Rigo Fernandez made a triple, while freshman Grant Gaon had three singles with two runs batted in, and senior Maxwell Martin pitched seven innings with eight strikeouts and one earned run. Senior Jackson Martin threw out a runner, had a triple, a run and a run batted in.

“I was really excited after throwing out the runner,” Jackson said.

“It really calmed down our pitcher who was struggling to throw strikes early in the game.”

With a fairly smooth win in the first game, both Gaon and Maxwell felt confident going into the second game.

“I wasn’t concerned about how the game was going to end [after the first game,]” Maxwell said. “The team got me an early lead, and I was in control on the mound.”

Gaon also added, “We weren’t tired [at the end of the first game],” he said. “We had enough [energy] to pull out the win.”

The second game, however, consisted of ups and downs throughout the game with Beverly winning by a single run. Though Beverly took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, St. Margaret’s responded with six runs in the second inning, leaving Beverly in an early 6-1 deficit. In the next two innings, Beverly rallied and mounted a comeback scoring a total of five runs with Fernandez break-

ing out of a slump and hitting three singles, while senior Raymond Son had his first hit of the year. Maxwell also batted 2-3 with a double and a triple and three run batted ins with two stolen bases. In the bottom of the sixth winning, Maxwell hit a two run home-run to put Beverly back in the lead 8-6.

The close game continued with St. Margaret’s scoring twice more in the top of the seventh inning. Finally in the bottom last inning, Beverly applied pressure causing St. Margaret’s to make errors. With Martin at the plate, passing ball and leading to walk-off, Beverly won 9-8 final score of the second game.

Even though the team only has three returning starters to the varsity team this year, Maxwell strongly believed that the team will play well the rest of the season, considering its successful win against St. Margaret’s.

“We started the season 0-3, and since [then] we are 7-2,” Maxwell said. “Our young guys have really started to figure out varsity baseball. I expect us to be in contention for leagues this year and play CIF.” Gaon also felt confident in his team.

“I like our group of guys. I feel like we have what it takes to win and do well in the league,” Gaon said.

Furthermore, Jackson gave kudos to his fellow players senior Kenneth Kwon and sophomore Alex Neustaedter when asked for an MVP of the game.

“Kenneth gave us the emotional support and made a great catch in the outfield. Alex also pitched a great game as well,” Jackson said.

“We have really been able to put it together recently. I think this team is special. We’re playing good defense and hitting well.”

With great expectations from the players, the varsity team will kick off its league season with a game against rival, Culver City on April 8 and April 10. The team will also play against El Segundo on April 11. Scores for both games were not available in time for press.

VIRGINIA CARMELITANO

Coach Adams brings experience to varsity volleyball Arman Zadeh sports editor The varsity boys volleyball team features a number of fresh new faces this season, including freshman Owen Lloyd and sophomore David Bina. With the help of these latest additions, the team is picking up right where it left off following a second round playoff exit last season and is aiming towards city championships. Inspiring this latest run, though, is no addition to the team’s starting lineup, but an addition to its bench.

An experienced high school volleyball coach and player himself, head coach Daryl Adams will lead this year’s volleyball squad in its journey to CIF. Adams was hired this year after he was introduced to the position at Beverly through student athletes who train with him privately, notably a member

of Beverly’s girls volleyball team, Lena Shapiro.

Adams offers experience to the team not typical of most high school coaches. As a player, Adams was a two time outstanding defensive player of the year, twice a National All-American athlete and a two time silver medalist at the national level. In 2010, Adams coached his team to City Champions. Adams has been a member of 17 championship teams ranging from teams of private to national leagues. As a decorated coach and player, he immediately received high praise and respect from his new team.

“Daryl’s coached so much volleyball he has a sixth sense of the game,” varsity team member Matthew Sater said. “We’ve never seen his predictions be wrong so if Daryl tells us to do something, we

do it because we know he knows best.”

Adams introduced his unique coaching style to Beverly believing that he and the team have what it takes for a deep playoff run.

“I believe that I have the talent here that definitely makes us league contenders. We have the power. We have the defense. We have the speed,” Adams said.

As a coach for developing players, Adams focuses on speed, agility and intelligence. These qualities, he says, help shorter players like himself compete in a game dominated by vertically gifted players.

The success teams have had in the past with Adams’ system, he believes, in part comes from the life lessons his players learn from the game.

“I really enjoy developing play-

ers, getting them ready not only for volleyball. My philosophy is: volleyball has a lot of life lessons,” Adams said. “Mental toughness, maturity, composure, commitment, and training and execution.

These are all things that are very

important to me and I believe are applicable to everyday life.”

Adams hopes to bring Beverly its first championship in boys volleyball in his first season with the team.

ARMAN ZADEH

Adams studies the court on April 8 when the team faced Culver City in the Swim Gym.