VOL XLV NO 3

WATER BOTTLES GUN CONTROL Students apply for a grant to provide ecofriendly water bottles

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GLUTTONY

The conflict between safety and constitutional liberties

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 5124 SAN JOSE, CA

Can there be an upside to gluttony?

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the charger account Leland High School

6677 Camden Avenue

San Jose, 95120

Vol. XLV

No. 2

November 18, 2009

‘All the world’s a stage’ for Advanced Drama Stephanie Yu news editor

F

or the first time, the school’s Advanced Drama class, instructed by Steve Dini, Drama Dept., performed The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), a comical play satirizing the works of the famous English playwright.

The main Macbeth cast was comprised of eight actors: Seniors Alex Ehler, Dakota Fagundes, Lyndsey Gardner and Danielle Williams as well as Juniors Kelly Fuelleman, Tara Martarano, Katie Mitchell and Kristen Pate; the main Hamlet cast was comprised of eight actors as well: Seniors Evan Camacho, Jocelyne Cardona, John Proudfoot, Supna Saxena and Allison Tom, as well as Juniors Christine Nham, Kailey Erickson and Katie Sisto.

Both casts worked since the third week of school to compress the 37 works of Shakespeare into a play of under an hour and a half. Practices took place Mon. to Thurs. from 1:40 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The script was adapted from a pre-existing play of the same name, which Dini received performing rights for by paying the publisher, Stage movements were primarily written into the script, though the student actors and actresses added their own unique improvisations in order to truly capture the essence of the play for themselves and turn each role into a more individual and personal one.

“When we give some of our own personalities to the character, it improves the quality of the play,” Cardona said.

“We just wanted to make this as funny as possible and original to ourselves as we could while still keeping some of the original humor as intended by the writers,” Tom said. “Each cast directed their own play so everyone decided who did what and who went where together.”

Courtesy of Laurence Abiog The Hamlet cast consults the Complete Works of William Shakespeare before “remembering” to perform the last play, Hamlet.

While the play certainly was not lacking in effort, it was a relatively low-budget endeavor; most costumes came from past Halloweens while decorations consisted of commonplace toys and household items.

“The premise was that the play was put up almost on the spot and that a lot of it was supposed to seem impromptu to the audience,” Saxena said. “We just hoped that people would come to have a good time.

The fall play usually isn’t as popular as other school activities but since this is such a fun production and

students have to read Shakespeare in class, it was cool since everyone can relate to it.”

The performances took place on Nov. 3, 4, 6 and 7, Tues., Wed., Thurs. and Sat., each beginning at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria. The Hamlet cast performed on Tues., followed by the Macbeth cast on Wed., Hamlet again on Fri. and the final Macbeth cast on Sat. “This play [is] so extremely funny [that] you cannot read Shakespeare without remembering some part of our performance,” Tom said.

Janice Yip

ASB account. The school raised close to 5,000 pounds last year, and is aiming to raise at least that amount this year. Last year’s fourth period class winners were Heather Hendry, Foreign Language Dept., for the extra-credit division and Michelle O’Shea, Science Dept., for the non-extra-credit division.

“The Can Jam puts our competitiveness to a good cause, as we get to help families in need while having fun. The prizes are also further incentives for us to bring in as much as we can,” Junior Robert Huang said.

The Second Harvest Food Bank also takes monetary donations, and 95 cents of every dollar is used to feed the hungry. Especially with the recent recession, more people need donations for their sustenance.

Many people have been very excited to help out, and the school has so far raised around 1800 pounds of food for the drive.

Junior Sabrina Azevedo is the head of the ASB committee helping run the drive. Others involved include Juniors Jacquelyn Nguyen and Esha Singhal, Sophomores Tanya Zadeh and Marni Bergstrom and Freshman Aly Martin.

“Bringing in cans is the least we can do to support struggling families in our county,” Azevedo said.

School’s annual food drive helps support the hungry W

Nguyen Photo

news in brief

sports editor

ith the return of the school’s annual Can Jam, students aim to raise 5,000 pounds of food and meet this year’s goal.

For many of the past years, the Associated Student Body (ASB) has conducted a food drive to help feed hungry people in the community. ASB works alongside the Second Harvest Food Bank to provide local shelters with food for people who otherwise cannot afford any.

“The majority of the food we distribute is donated food and as large manufacturers and retailers tighten their belts, the Food Bank has to turn to the community and other sources to make up those lost donations,” the Second Harvest Food Bank states.

The school’s Can Jam competition began Mon., Nov. 2, and ends this Fri., Nov. 20; it is being held between all fourth period classes. Although people may still bring in cans the week of Nov. 23, the cans will not count toward competition points.

There are two separate competitions – one for teachers giving extra credit, and another for those who are not. Like previous years, the winning class of each competition will receive a pizza party funded by the

H1N1 Shots:

HOLIDAY CardS:

S&D Fundraiser:

Students were given the opportunity to take part in the district’s free administration of the H1N1 flu virus vaccine and flu shot.

Many students penned messages Christmas and holiday cards thanking soldiers for their military service in the annual Christmas Card Drive.

Students gathered at the California Pizza Kitchen on Nov. 9 to raise money for the Speech and Debate Team in its second fundraiser.

news NOVEMBER 18, 2009 Street racing causes death of an alumna 2

Marissa Ayala and Christine Nham staff writer

On the evening of Thurs., Oct. 22, alumna Alyson Snow ‘07 was caught in the middle of a street race and died as a result of the reckless driving.

At approximately 9:45 p.m., 20-year-old Snow was driving her Volkswagen Jetta down Branham Lane when one of the racers came up from behind and rammed her vehicle into a tree. Shannon George, who witnessed the entire incident, ran to aid Snow and her passenger, identified only as Daniel. Snow was bleeding profusely from her head while Daniel suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The two cars, a Nissan and a black BMW, sped eastbound on Branham Lane, between Pearl Avenue and Vistapark Drive.

This is the second fatal street racing accident in San Jose in the past two weeks. The preceding accident occurred on Silver Creek Valley Road and killed Luan Le, who was racing his car and lost control of the vehicle soon after.

Manuel Pourmand and Joseph Anthony Inocencio, the two men suspected to be responsible for Snow’s death, were arrested on vehicular manslaughter and speed contest charges. They were taken into the hospital to be treated for injuries and were promptly arrested afterwards.

Police are worried about the rising numbers of innocent bystanders being killed or injured by street racing. Because these car races are randomly initiated

on the street, it is difficult for the police to control this growing problem. Snow, who was known for her cheerful and bright personality, graduated from the school in 2007. Snow was living in Fremont, and worked as a bookkeeper as well as a cocktail waitress at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewery.

“I was a good friend of Alyson, and it’s hard to believe that she’s really gone. She will always be remembered for her great smile and spirit,” Kevin Flammer, a Santa Clara University student who also graduated in Snow’s year, said.

Snow grew up in Almaden Valley and participated in Almaden soccer and swimming. During her high school career, Snow joined the school’s cheer team. “She was a cute, bubbly, spirited kid with a heart of gold. This is the saddest thing ever,” Patti Young, Bank, said.

Despite the horrors of the tragedy, it is clear that Snow will never be forgotten by her fellow peers.

Multiple memorials and a variety of funeral services have been held in her remembrance. An online guest book was also set up on the Mercury News website. An entire memorial website was dedicated in her memory as well.

A multitude of friends, family and even strangers have used the website to contribute their memories of Snow and give their condolences and sympathies to her family.

“It is always extremely sad to see a former student of our school leave us,” Sophomore Jason Hong said. Snow (far left) with her classmates after graduating.

History teacher coaches team for Pan American games Wooju Kim opinions editor

During the month of Oct., Scot Gillis, Social Science Dept., was the assistant hitting and infield coach for the United States 14 and under baseball team, which won the gold at the Pan American Games.

“We pick essentially the top 14-year-olds to play on the team,” Gillis said.

The team, undefeated since its inception, chooses athletes from all over the country to play for the US baseball team. There, the American participants played against other contestants from Brazil, Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica in the tournament, which is widely considered to be the World Championships for the 14 and under league.

The games are hosted every two years, with every other year being the qualifying year where teams play each other to see who gets to go to the elimination rounds of the Games. Nevertheless, just because teams have made it through the qualifying rounds does not mean that they are guaranteed to go to the tournament, as Mexico and Cuba had to pull out because they were not able to financially support their baseball teams.

However, to combat this, when the US participates in the Games, it is a common practice for the team to donate all the equipment to opposing teams

after the competition is over. Before the Games begin, the United States baseball team handed out materials such as gloves, balls and even bats. “Anything with USA on it, people were begging for trades,” Gillis said.

This philanthropic gesture immensely aids all the teams that partake in the challenge because the heavy financial burden of providing top equipment for their players is lifted from nations such as Panama, a country undergoing a huge economic crisis as of now.

Although the tournament is over, Gillis is still involved in the association, and is in line to possibly become the next head coach of the 14 and under team, along with a fellow assistant coach.

Gillis’s experience with the organization is not strictly limited to coaching.

Not only was he part of the 16 and under team beforehand, but he is currently developing a new software that would update the old scorekeeping system and provide for a new one that would allow for animations to replay the actual play on a screen. Gillis is working with Kevin Tillman, a former student of the school, under the start-up company EyezOnBaseball.

Apart from all these activities with United States Baseball, Gillis is an active member of the school as he was a coach for the baseball team, from 1996 to 2007.

Aside from being a teacher and a coach, he is also the person responsible for the school website.

ASB students lend many helping hands to several families in need

of her husband in the hospital. Because both staff writer parents spend their time in the hospital, their three children live with an extended family.

The school’s Associated Student Body (ASB) The unfortunate situations of these two has taken it upon themselves to assist two families families were brought to Jennifer Jeziorski, in unfortunate situations.

Special Education Dept., when the coordinator of The first family includes a mother, a father the Families in Need program contacted Jeziorski and six children between the ages of four who then presented the program to months and 14 years. Because both the class. parents are unemployed, ASB is still attempting to the family cannot afford coordinate a time in which they to live in a house. Instead, can deliver the supplies to the family is forced to live the families. However, outside with only a van as students of ASB their only shelter. already feel as if they ASB is providing are making a positive help to this family by contribution to the donating necessities lives of these families. that a family in this “I am really glad situation needs. that we are helping out Donations included these families because diapers, baby formula, we are reaching out toiletries, clothing and to the community and gasoline giftcards. helping those in need,” Junior “We take for Nina Singhal said. granted a lot of the things Unfortunately, not everyone in that these families do not have and ASB was able to participate in the project hearing their stories make us realize because only a few signed up to participate and just how lucky we are,” ASB Treasurer donate necessities.

Megan Mogannam said.

However, ASB is hoping to get the entire The father of the second family that ASB is school involved in a similar project later in the assisting with is in a coma. The mother spends school year, and through that, help more families the majority of her time helping and taking care in unfortunate circumstances.

Career Bulletin

Rachel Wagner

• • • •

• • •

Seniors:

California State University Application filing date: Oct. 1 through Nov. 30 University of California Application filing date: Nov. 1 through Nov. 30 Independent and Privates: Deadlines vary. Most apps are available on-line; otherwise write, email or call.

Personal Statement Assistance: If you need help with the UC or any college’s Personal Statement, stop by the Career Center during the Oct. and Nov. period to set up an appointment to meet with Mrs. Spindler. You may drop off your essay in the Career Center prior to meeting with her.

Community College: The application process begins in spring. Applications will be available in the Career Center at that time.

Free Waivers: available for the SAT, ACT and AP tests, and for college applications. Please see Mrs. Albers in the Career Center to be verified and pick up a form.

Free SAT/ACT/AP practice sites: http://collegeboard. com; http://act.org; http://sparknotes.com; http:// powerprep.com; http://4test.com and http:// studentmarket.com.

Dec. 5: SAT I & SAT Subject Tests

news

The Charger Account

3

Talented students battle for spotlight in annual Variety Show auditions Alvin Tseng staff writer

On Oct. 28 and 29, students auditioned for the annual Variety Show, showing Associated Student Body (ASB) members what they plan to perform.

This year’s auditions took place much earlier than last year’s.

Originally planned for Nov. 20, the Variety Show will be postponed to Jan. 29. It will consist of eight to twelve different individual or group acts. Participants signed up in the bank and stayed after school in order to have a chance of being in the Variety Show.

As heads of ASB’s Entertainment Committee, Junior Brooke Mills and Senior Sarah Piazza coordinated both the auditions and the actual Variety Show. Mills and several other members of the Entertainment Committee judged performers from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the cafeteria.

Their goal was to find a variety of talents that best represented the student body to display at the Variety Show, while keeping the performance diverse, multicultural and entertaining. “[The school] has a lot of talent so the show should be very exciting this year,” Mills said.

According to Mills, the auditions were not very formal and were simply designed to encourage more students to take a chance and try out. While three performers auditioned on Oct. 28 six more hopefuls tried out on Oct. 29. The auditions involved students performing samples of their acts for the judges to savor. Many of

the auditions involved singing, dancing and playing instruments such as the guitar.

Each performance had its own special flair and was very unique. Moreover, ASB Vice President Zade Shakir hinted about a “surprise act” that would take place during the performance.

Many talented students waited for their turns to present their skills during those two days, carrying instrument cases, music sheets and high hopes throughout the school.

Students from the school’s choir auditioned as a group while numerous others sang to the music of their instruments.

Amongst the many students who auditioned, Junior Seth Landers is one of the acoustic guitarists who tried out for a spot in the Variety Show.

“I am going to play the guitar and sing along. I actually do not feel too nervous or worried. In fact, I feel pretty confident about being able to make the Variety Show because I practiced quite a bit,” Landers said.

The Variety Show will be hosted by MCs Shakir and ASB Secretary Sam Pandey, who will also be performing a rap and hip-hop skit on the show.

In previous years, Variety Shows were filled with varied, multi-cultural performances such as student-formed bands, traditional Persian dances and ballads. With this year’s Variety Show fast approaching, the school may look forward to another exciting and engaging display.

Musical performers showcase talents in first concert of the year of black and white, but some groups, such as Chamber Choir, added a splash of news and feature editor maroon to their outfits. Meanwhile, Women’s Choir sported matching dresses that were purchased at the beginning of the year.

“It was my first choir concert and I liked it. I actually got chills while I was On Oct. 21, the school’s Jazz Band, Chamber singing,” Senior June Kim said.

Choir and Women’s Choir, directed by Rian

The school’s music groups have undergone much change this year. The Rodriguez, Visual and Performing Arts Dept., increase in male participation in Chamber Choir by students such as Seniors held the first concert of the school year.

John Proudfoot and Brian Gradwohl has changed its dynamics.

Approximately 100 people attended the

“The Chamber Choir this year is absolutely fantastic because a lot more men concert – many of them friends and parents of than usual signed up for choir this year compared to previous years,” Senior the performers.

Kristine Lee, pianist, said.

The Jazz Band, a seven-member ensemble,

This school year, the choirs and musicians are planning to attend the commenced the concert with six numbers Heritage Festival 2010, an organization that promotes music education and including “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” holds festivals all over the globe in order to celebrate the musical talents of “Have You Met Miss Jones,” “Blue Bossa” and young people today.

The festival, which takes place in San Diego will include “One Note Samba.” a buffet dinner, an awards ceremony, a dance, a day pass to Sea World and free “It was the best concert we had [in] a while. time to explore the beach city.

Maybe I just felt good [about it] because I However, in order to take advantage of this opportunity to exhibit their talents, the wasn’t as nervous, for some reason,” Senior budding musicians will need the monetary assistance of the community.

Kento Kameyama, a saxophonist, said.

Tsai Photo

“It would be highly appreciated if the school and the students supported the Women’s Choir and Chamber Choir finished Kameyama practices for concert. with six songs each including “Bluebird,” “A arts more considering the fact that the music department is slowly fading out – not City Called Heaven,” “Rockin’ Jerusalem,” “Come Again” and “I Have Longed.” The only at [the school], but all over Calif. I mean, we could potentially get famous! So music was chosen to reflect the Renaissance ideal while many religious songs simply coming to our concerts and fundraisers and taking in the music is all we ask for,” Senior Angeline Nguyen said. were performed.

The music groups perform on stage twice a semester. The next concert is

Performers were clad in formal attire – males in dress shirts, ties and slacks and females in dress shirts and slacks or skirts. Most adhered to a color scheme tentatively scheduled to take place on Dec. 14.

Krithika Chennapan and Lynn Kang

Students work to solve environmental issues Top ten ways to

Many people also prefer bottled water because of a A K J M misconception that tap water is not as clean as bottled green-ify the school If all goes as planned, every student in the school will water. However, this is actually not true. lice

oh and

effrey

eng

staff writers

have a reusable water bottle.

Last year, the school’s AP Environmental Science class was divided into groups for a final end of the year project. The assignment was to devise a plan to make the school more environmental friendly.

Seniors Dexter Tan, Liya Chiu, David Namkoong and Laura Tjho came up with the idea of distributing reusable water bottles to every student in the school.

Currently, Tan and Tjho are working with Michelle O’Shea, Science Dept., to put their ideas into action.

“Reducing the usage of disposable water bottles reduces the quantity of fossil fuels burned, pollution created in the process of recycling and plastic that enters the system,” Tan said.

Unlike disposable water bottles, these reusable water bottles do not contain the dangerous toxin Bisphenol A (BPA).

BPA, a chemical which causes obesity and hyperactivity, is so common that United States Canned Foods discovered that ninety-five percent of people have this harmful chemical in their bodies. Moreover, the chemical can disrupt the body’s hormones, potentially causing cancer and neurological effects.

Normal water bottles are generally used once and thrown away. Plastic, a nonbiodegradable material, continues to build up, filling landfills and polluting the environment. Moreover, plastic trash can be fatal to curious animals that mistake it for food.

Plastic is used because it is cheaper and more versatile than most other materials. However, with oil reserves dwindling and prices rising, the raw materials available for creating plastic bottles are decreasing.

“Tap water is tested to make sure it’s safe because it’s regulated by the Safe Drinking Act. Bottled water is actually allowed to have more contaminants than tap water,” O’Shea said.

The water bottle Tan and Tjho plan to introduce to the school contains polyethylene; therefore, students who use this bottle will not have to worry about leaching dangerous chemicals.

“I think that this project is a great idea. I hope that it gets approved because I really care about the environment,” Sophomore Kimberly Ly said.

Tan and Tjho plan to fund the project by applying for the “San José Go Green Schools Grant.” They are waiting for their project approval and will hopefully find out the results of their successful application on Nov. 20.

The San José Go Green Schools Program was set up by the San José Environmental Services Dept. to foster environmental education and other efforts to protect the environment all across the community, hoping to establish, maintain and expand the oncampus recycling program. It is a purely non-profit and charity-based organization. In this grant, projects can receive anywhere between five hundred to five thousand dollars.

Tan and Tjho requested a five thousand dollar grant for this project, but they are also competing with many other schools for the limited amount of grant money available.

“If we don’t get the grant, we might buy [the reusable water bottles] ourselves and sell them instead of giving them out for free to make up the cost. If we do that, we’ve got to make people understand why we shouldn’t use plastic bottles,” O’Shea said.

10. Paint the entire school green.

9. Hire Al Gore to preach The Inconvenient Truth over the PA system daily.

8. Replace the school’s lightning bolt mascot with those swirly CFL bulbs.

7. Give less homework (and tests, and worksheets, etc.)! Less work saves paper, which saves trees!

6. Cut back on heating costs for classrooms and give out cafeteria hot pockets to warm hands.

5. Build a giant dome around the school to create a mini-ecosystem like in The Simpson’s Movie.

4. Replace the purple thing in the quad and its “leaves” with real trees.

3. Make the freshmen hold up solar panels to gather energy for the school.

2. Hold in farts to reduce the amount of methane in the atmosphere, thereby reducing the amount of greenhouse gases.

1. There’s something called recycling. Ever heard of it?

Compiled by Edward Yang Staff Writer Courtesy of Google Images

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opinions

November 18, 2009

Political Pundit: Broke and Broken Kairav Sinha

the charger account PUBLICATION The Charger Account is published by the advanced journalism students for the Leland community at: Leland High School Booster Club Leland High School 6677 Camden Ave. San Jose, CA 95120-2142 DISCLAIMER Views and opinions published in the Charger Account reflect solely those of their authors. All unsigned editorials are the collective opinions of the editorial board.

EDITORS IN CHIEF Janet Hsueh, Karen Lee, Nikhil Subramaniam, Ingar Wang NEWS EDITORS Krithika Chennapan, Florence Wong, Stephanie Yu OPINION EDITORS Kairav Sinha, Wooju Kim, Ashwath Chennapan VIEWPOINT EDITOR Raymond Liu FEATURE EDITORS Eileen Chen, Annabel Liu, Lynn Kang ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Sue Kim SPORTS EDITORS Alison Lee, Janice Yip LAST WORD EDITOR Kimberly Tseng BUSINESS MANAGER Sue Kim EXCHANGE/CIRCULATION MANAGER Alison Lee ART DIRECTOR Joyce Chen PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR Grace Koh COMPUTER TECHNICIAN David Kang ADVISER Elizabeth Taylor COMMUNITY CIRCULATION (PARENT’S CLUB) J.F. Lue COPY EDITORS Janet Hsueh, Karen Lee, Nikhil Subramaniam, Norris Tie, Kimberly Tseng, Ingar Wang

Today, American public schools find themselves facing a modern-day Cerberus.

The metaphor is apt in more ways than one: US education must confront (and solve) a triplepronged problem with greater-thanHerculean skill.

Problem one: money. There just isn’t enough to go around. The UC system is laying off hundreds of staff members and giving “furloughs” – the politically correct way to say forced days without pay – to many more. There are pay cuts of ten percent across the board, and tuition increases of a whopping 32 percent.

200,000 students lost financial aid.

Earlier this year, our charming governor snatched away eight billion dollars from the Calif. public education system and Calif. dropped to the bottom of the education list. It’s something to be proud about – the Golden State now pays the least amount of money per student in the nation!

Schwarzenegger, apparently, is even more confused than he looks. Perky as always, he said that he is “a big believer in education.” Apparently, in his book, budget cuts are the way to improve education, not (crazy as it sounds) reform.

And so, the enlightened Governator has

terminated any hope for education reform in California. Instead of trying to reform the system, schools across the state are now just trying to scrape by.

Schwarzenegger’s excuse that he can’t “manufacture money” is flimsy.

With a little ingenuity, he might have been able to reduce the size of the cuts, but apparently education isn’t very important to Schwarzenegger. Neither are state parks or child welfare programs. Family values much?

Calif. has bottomed out on its education rankings, and this leads us to the second problem: the unfortunate tendency of American schools to cater to the lowest common denominator.

This characterization may be unfair.

In many cases, schools have no choice.

Special education programs are the first to go, and the students are often sent into mainstream classes, where teachers are forced to teach grade-level standards to students across the proficiency spectrum.

The problem is less evident in high school, where giving students the option of AP or honors classes naturally separates those with different abilities.

But in the lower grades, all students are lumped together, and unfortunate sixth grade teachers are teaching students from all across the board: from those reading at a first-grade level to those reading at a twelfth-grade level.

And this leads me to part three: the teachers themselves. It is a travesty that it is so difficult to hire (and to retain) good teachers. In many cases, the profession is simply no longer attractive to young people, and older teachers are retiring by the hundreds of thousands across the nation.

Calls for teacher reform have begun already in Wa., starting with Arne Duncan, Obama’s Secretary of Education.

Susan Engel, head of Williams College’s education program, wrote in a New York Times editorial that teaching programs should be modeled after medical schools, with more observation of student teachers and continued study of the subject a teacher plans to teach.

Solving the problem will first require us to tackle the educational financial crisis and find ways to give our schools enough money to buy textbooks, refurbish technology and pay teachers. Tackling the second and third parts will not be easy.

There is resistance from all ends of the political spectrum, and any solution will take more time to pass than healthcare (a strange concept).

It is indeed true that without a better education system, Americans will be at a competitive disadvantage in the rest of the world. But that’s the textbook reason.

What we should really be asking ourselves is: don’t American students deserve more?

Quotebox: Does contacting your representatives to confront problems make a large difference?

“No, [because] the representatives already get thousands of different opinions everyday, so there is really no point in contacting them.”

– Sophomore Sindura Ravichandran “No, because it’s highly unlikely that the representatives will pay attention to just one individual; they have thousands of other people to listen to. However, in some cases, contacting your representatives can be beneficial if the public’s opinion is the same. More opinions equal more change.”

– Junior Michelle Nguyen “No, because you are just an individual and there are millions of other people with different responses that need to be heard too.”

– Sophomore Roshmita Bardhan “No, because there are many other individuals out there with different opinions. [Politicians] probably get millions of opinions everyday, which they ignore.”

– Sophomore Elizabeth Amunrud

“No, [because] I don’t contribute to their campaigns.”

– Junior Amode Tembhekar “Yes, if you have deep pockets.”

– Lambert Woo, Science Dept.

“I don’t believe contacting your political representatives will make a difference because they already get enough calls as it is; what makes your call different?”

– Junior Ajay Nichani “No, they don’t care about what I think. I’m fifteen, 5’2”, don’t pay taxes and slightly communist.”

– Sophomore Kelly Wu

“What has worked, when I’ve tried, is to get people to call the same number nonstop during office hours.”

– Senior Ayushi Roy Compiled by Julian Crown Staff Writer

Paperless grade reporting saves money Jordan Olmstead and Christine Nham staff writers

Every eight to ten weeks or so, every public school student in Calif. is required by law to receive a letter from their school district containing their grades from the previous six week grading period.

Like the solar panels put in at this school, Bret Harte Middle School and Gunderson High, this is just another step the district is taking in order to become more environmentally-friendly.

While the state should keep parents informed on their children’s scholarly pursuits, sending progress reports by mail is simply a poor decision.

The law mandating mailing progress reports is woefully outdated; while half a century ago there was no e-mail, Parent Internet Viewer (PIV), or automated phone calling systems, we now have all these methods of contacting and informing parents on their students’ grades, which makes the paper progress report obsolete.

Not every student in Calif. has access to the Internet, and exceptions should be made for them, but for the overwhelming majority of students, receiving grades in the mail is unnecessary.

It is wasteful and inefficient to send grades in the mail when most students and parents can check them online whenever they please.

“I think [sending progress reports] is a waste of paper because you can just check online,” Junior Neil Khosla said.

Indeed, sending paper progress reports is incredibly wasteful. In these times of recession and budget deficits, our

state’s schools are scraping for every penny they can get to pay their teachers. It is becoming an increasing challenge to provide our schools with basic necessities like books and desks. Why should school districts be forced to pay thousands upon thousands of dollars to send progress reports when they are struggling to meet these basic needs?

If one factors in the cost of paper, ink, envelopes and shipping, the State of Calif. spends around 50 million dollars a year sending progress reports to students. With teachers being laid off, sports and extracurriculars being cut left and right, how can the state force schools to spend such a great amount of their already-strained budgets (and time) on something so needless?

Sending progress reports by mail is also an ineffective means of updating parents on their children’s progress in school. Families will often receive progress reports with grades that are weeks, and sometimes months old. Contacting parents about their students’ grades and academic progress through e-mail, and PIV give parents information that is timely and informative without delays of weeks and months, making these methods of informing parents far more effective.

“I like that they’re trying to saving paper [and not printing progress reports], but my parents will still know about my grades through PIV,” Junior Kelly Fuelleman said.

So while the option of receiving six week progress reports through the mail should remain for families without Internet access, it is foolish to require schools to send them to all of their students.

opinions

The Charger Account

5

Running In Place: The Leader In You Bernadeta Baktashian I don’t like titles very much.

I understand that they will always be there and there is really no way to eliminate them, but when people decided to label themselves or sort themselves into some category – good or bad – it just makes me wonder why, when there is already so much judgment already constantly present.

In the past few years I have watched a lot of my peers take off to different week-long programs and conferences of which I did not fully comprehend the appeal. They were excited, and it left me bewildered as to why a piece of paper, just an invitation, got them all worked up. It did not seem worth the time or effort to actually attend one of these programs.

Yet, when I got an invitation from the National Young Leaders Conference (NYLC) I was definitely flattered that someone considered me a leader. It excited me; I embraced it thoroughly, wanting badly to confirm this idea that perhaps I was a somewhat important and valuable aspect to the community, or the school at the very least.

I signed up, convincing my parents to allow me to attend by using the excuse that I have found to be extremely successful for the past couple of months: this trip was essential for me to attend the college of my dreams.

So I sat in the airport, waiting for three hours for a red eye – what seemed like the impossibly long drum roll to the most

rewarding trip of my life thus far – and I began to contemplate what lay before me.

I am a young seventeen-year-old. I have just barely scraped the surface of leading to have an impact on those around me and yet I gained a lot from this trip.

While I was comparing myself to and learning about great leaders, both modern and contemporary, I also learned of my potential as a leader and gathered the ideas to fuel it – something which I can apply to my daily life.

The trip also opened my eyes to the people around me who act as leaders daily – secret heroes that I fail to acknowledge for what they truly are.

My generation is quickly being signed off as one of shallow consumerism, and honestly, I can fully see why this assumption is being made. I watch kids surround themselves with meaningless activities and consumer goods, ignorant to the world around them.

However, this stereotype can be completely disproven with just a little bit of attention to the intelligent young adults of our time.

And while for me it took the nudge of an expensive trip to the East Coast, where I met driven students from across the nation, it is now ridiculously easy to spot them around the school and Almaden Valley, and it gives me a little more hope for the future of not just our country, but for the world and society as a whole.

Immunization: Should it be compulsory for all students?

Mary Gong staff writer

As a nation valuing human rights, the only way to maximize the rights protected is through making immunization compulsory for everyone who is physically capable of being immunized.

“Compulsory immunization allows everyone to be healthy because it prevents diseases from spreading in the society,” Freshman Sheridan Bowers said. Taking this precaution protects the entire community as a whole, which is much safer than allowing some people to not get immunized for a plethora of abstract reasons.

Citizens often make bad decisions because they are misinformed about diseases, which would then, in turn, lead to endangering both their lives, and the lives of people around them.

In addition, when something is not made compulsory, people tend not to make extra effort to inform themselves on the issue and take action.

Examples of such a case can be seen with bacterial meningitis, a deadly disease that infects the soft tissue in the spinal cord, and is easily spread in college dormitories. However, only 12 percent of teens get the vaccination for the disease.

“Compulsory immunization will lower the rate of disease and protect the society,” Sophomore Kanish ArhantSudhir said.

By making immunization mandatory, those who cannot protect themselves from diseases will be saved. Babies under

the age of one are too young to get the measles shot. However, in a society where all the adults are vaccinated against the measles, the chances of the child contracting the actual disease are minimal.

If we did not force everyone to get immunized, an older person could easily transfer the disease to the infant, which would endanger the infant’s life.

It is therefore the government’s responsibility to ensure that children are safe from easily preventable diseases and that the society itself is thriving.

On the other hand, others believe that compulsory immunization infringes on an individual’s right to choose, a fundamental concept in a democracy.

The Harm Principle, proposed John Stuart Mill, argues against this belief, stating that when power is exercised over a person, against his will, in order to prevent harm to others, it is acceptable.

An individual’s personal decision to not get the vaccination can easily affect the well-being of another person. The moment an individual’s rights conflict with the rights of another individual, the second individual’s rights must be considered. Therefore, compulsory immunization is the only way to protect society.

After all, the prerequisite to having a functional democratic society is to first ensure that all members of the society are alive and healthy.

In a society that promotes the general welfare, the right to swing one’s fist ends where the other person’s nose begins, and in the case of disease and the like, everyone’s nose is in danger.

The Search: For the Winner in Everyone Ryan Chow

I had always thought I was a Frosted Flakes kind of guy.

Sure, I’m not the sweetest person around, but otherwise, I’m a perfect fit: I’ve got the basic corn flakes embedded within, but I’m a bit more imaginative than that plain old cereal: the Frosted Flakes box actually has color! Blue and orange, in fact: my favorite colors. That, and I would dress up like Tony the Tiger any day.

You might be wondering why I’m writing about what cereal I am. To be honest, I saw this question on an online survey, and at first, I thought it was a pretty stupid question too. But after I lied and said that I was Special K, I realized that the question was actually an indirect description of my personality. An accurate one, in fact – so maybe marking “Special K” was an indication that I thought highly of myself.

A Froot Loop could be someone with an artificially colorful personality, and a tendency to sugarcoat things; numerous politicians come to mind.

A Cheerio might be someone with a bare bones, “just the essentials” kind of attitude, and its sweeter counterpart, the hollowed Honey Nut Cheerio, is the same but far more tasty.

Similarly, I thought I fit the description of a Frosted Flake pretty well: just a tad sweeter than boring Corn Flakes.

I mean, when picking my trademark symbol, it really comes down to Tony the Tiger versus Cornelius the Rooster: Tiger eats Rooster, end of story. In any case, I really had my

mind set on being a Frosted Flake. But as usual, my friends thought otherwise.

“Oh, you’re definitely Raisin Bran!” one exclaimed. “Hmm ... Raisin Bran,” another said. “Raisin Bran, no doubt about it.

Oh, and with only one scoop of raisins.”

Wait, what? Only one scoop? Am I that boring?

On seeing my distraught expression, they all started sputtering praises in defense of their verdict: that I was practical, that I was healthy, that I was good for them, and that I was a mama’s boy.

In other words, not really praise at all. At least, not in my eyes.

I have to admit though, I eventually became inured to my Raisin Bran status. Sure, Raisin Bran might not be as interesting or as flavorful as Frosted Flakes, but hey, it’s still a lot better than plain old Corn Flakes. Two scoops or not, at least I have raisins. How about that, Cornelius?

Besides, I wouldn’t want to be those popular cereals like Froot Loops or Cinnamon Toast Crunch. They’re both so artificial and packed with preservatives, and to be honest, loads of garbage (you heard me right). Yet millions of children are still munching away at those little pieces of sugar-drenched grains. Worst of all, nobody even feels guilty!

Clearly, those millions of people disagree with me, but I think it’s worth sacrificing sugar laden cereals for healthier cereals, like Raisin Bran. I mean, raisins aren’t even that disgusting, right? Uh, right?

Oh, well ... I may not be delicious, but on the bright side, at least I’m nutritious.

the charger account LETTERS TO THE EDITORS

Comments should be mailed to the Charger Account, brought to room J-5 or submitted online to lelandchargeraccount@gmail.com.

Letters must be signed, but names may be withheld upon request. All letters will become the property of the Charger Account and we reserve the right to edit submissions without changing the meaning of the content.

STAFF WRITERS Marissa Ayala Bernadeta Baktashian Ankur Bhagat Lauren Chang Leon Chen Kevin Choi Ryan Chow Julian Crown Mary Gong Charles Hsiao Catherine Hsu David Kang Sarah Kho Alice Koh Annie Lee Jeffrey Meng Julia Montgomery Neda Moosavi Christine Nham Jordan Olmstead Celine Ryan Alvin Tseng Rachel Wagner Albert Wu Edward Yang Christine Yen PHOTOGRAPHERS Lauren Flores Marvin Lo Jacquelyn Nguyen Alex Tsai Ingar Wang ARTISTS Jessica Chen Joyce Chen Janet Hsueh Emilie Jehng Jessica Lee Raymond Liu Alyssa Paredes Kimberly Tseng

The Charger Account has been awarded first place since 1991 by the Quill and Scroll Society and was awarded The George H. Gallup Award in 1997. The National Scholastic Press Assn. has consistently awarded the Charger Account an All American rating with four marks of distinction every year since 1993, and the Columbia Scholastic Press Assn. named the Charger Account a gold medalist publication in 2009.

6

opinions

NOVEMBER 18, 2009

180°: Is gun control the answer to violence?

Pro: Stricter firearm laws ensure peace, public safety

Albert Wu staff writer

In the United States, the safety of citizens and the prevention of crime make gun control a necessity.

There has long been a debate between the right to bear arms and individual safety, which is threatened by firearms. However, when weighing the two issues, it becomes clear that protecting civilians should take greater precedent. The role of government is to protect its citizens, and implementing gun control reform enables that protection.

The biggest effect of implementing gun control is preventing firearms from being used in crimes. In 2001, 63 percent of all homicides in the United States were committed with a firearm. Implementing gun control measures would prevent a significant number of these deaths, and discourage citizens from rashly misusing firearms in their anger.

Aside from homicides, common firearms are also often used in a variety of other situations. In crimes such as robberies, guns provide the intimidation factor that criminals use to threaten their victims.

Criminals who use guns in order to intimidate (muggers, armed robbers, etc.) are usually insecure and therefore pose an even greater danger to the law-abiding public. Guns fuel various offenses and play an unfortunately significant role in crimes across the United States.

“Gun control would prevent a sizeable amount of crime by keeping firearms out of the hands of potentially dangerous criminals,” Junior Robert Huang said.

Guns are dangerous when used by adults, but in the hands of children and adolescents, people are placed in even more jeopardy. Driven by school-related stress or social problems, some students resort to gun violence. Prominent examples include the infamous Columbine High School shooting in 1999 or, more recently, the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007.

Many people who own guns do so for self-protection. Yet, despite what many may think, owning a gun does not achieve this end. In fact, rather than offering more protection, owning a gun only adds to the hostility of an alreadyhazardous situation; introducing a weapon into any situation only adds to the potential for damage.

Consider the following situation: a criminal breaks and enters into a home, armed with a handgun. The homeowner, likewise, possesses a sidearm and prepares to fire it at the burglar. The burglar panics, and fires at the homeowner on impulse. In this type of situation, gun ownership and lack of control actually works against the self-stated end of furthering personal protection.

One study showed that a gun meant for self-protection is 43 times more likely to kill a family member or a friend than it is to kill someone in selfdefense. Part of this is due to the rarity of being attacked while bearing a weapon, but it also has to do with the nature of firearms. When dealing with something as dangerous as firearms, the possibility of accidents occurring cannot be overlooked. Therefore, increased control over purchasing and bearing firearms would help prevent potentially fatal accidents.

“Guns meant for protection can actually do more harm than good,” Junior Samuel Lin said.

The first and foremost role of the government is to protect its citizens and to ensure their well-being.

At the point where over half the murders in the United States are a result of firearms, it becomes clear that gun control must be implemented. Without it, order and stability are in danger, as firearms are pointless unless used - and of course, when they are used, they cause harm and possibly death.

“The use of guns must be limited by government in order to ensure safety and peace among the public,” Sophomore Jonathan Sir said.

Con: Weapon bans infringe liberties, prove ineffective So far, these measures have been unsuccessful. Stricter laws put in place to help the government fight drug cartels with less resistance have resulted in record high Despite six Supreme Court cases and hours of debate on the topic, Americans crime, and the number of cartels that possess and arm themselves with guns have still ask themselves: is gun control the solution to violence? gone up since the ban.

The answer is no.

“I went to Mexico last summer, and we saw the riots and Proponents of gun control argue that, with less guns, there will be less violence. violence. Almost everyone was carrying guns around, like it Opponents argue that guns are necessary, and that the second was an everyday thing. The police couldn’t even do anything amendment, that stipulates the right to own guns, was about it,” Senior Vishaal Dokras said. written specifically due to that necessity.

“When the government makes it illegal, or harder, to own a gun, Jacob G. Hornberger of the Future of Freedom they make it harder for themselves to track gun trade, ownership, Foundation writes, “There are two major reasons for and possession. By making something illegal, the government the right to keep and bear arms: so that citizens can incentivizes its purchase on the black market, and reduces the protect themselves from the tyrannical acts of their own government’s ability to track weapon use in potential crimes,” government and so that they can protect themselves from Junior Matt Dielman said. violent people.”

This is exactly what is occurring in Mexico, and what has Opponents counter Hornberger’s claim with the idea that begun to occur even in the United States. Hornberger explains with gun control, violent people will not gain access to guns. that as gun control laws become more stringent, guns become Historically, laws that make it illegal to own something, far easier to obtain on the black market. whether the illegal item is a gun, controlled substance, or

And the consequences impact not only Mexico, but alcohol, have been incompetent at curbing the possession of said countries throughout the Western Hemisphere; the New contraband. Instead, they often make the situation worse.

York Times reports that violent Mexican drug cartels have In Mexico, the government has always maintained very extended their reach across over 200 American cities, and are stringent gun control laws. Measures passed have made it virtually now commencing operations in Canada. Weapons smuggled impossible to purchase guns, and include requiring purchasers to south of the border find themselves as far south as Colombia petition the defense ministry before being allowed to purchase any and Venezuela, in the hands of criminals. type of weapon.

In the end, gun control laws make it harder for the Of the weapons that can be purchased, they must be extremely government to control how people buy and use guns in the low-caliber, and must be purchased from the defense ministry only.

U. S. The real solution to the problem is to let the Second Under federal law in Mexico, nobody may sell weapons but the Mexican Amendment, and the liberties that accompany it, govern government and its agencies. firearms policies.

Julian Crown

staff writer

By Raymond Liu

IR - dieting

The Charger Account

7

This issue’s Investigative Report (I.R.) topic, dieting, was researched by Ankur Bhagat, Sue Kim, Alex Tsai, Kimberly Tseng and Ingar Wang.

Obsession with dieting twists perception of beauty Sue Kim entertainment editor

In 1997, a congressional briefing on eating disorders reported disturbing results from a survey of young girls; instead of being scared of cancer, nuclear war or the loss of their parents, the young girls surveyed were most terrified of being fat.

As a slew of so-called miracle products are touted in the media, there is pressure on both men and women to look good in the face of society. Both genders are expected to fit the mold of an ideal associated with a “perfect” body, a mentality that has fueled the self-help and dieting industries.

“If men and women were more open-minded, we wouldn’t have to worry about self-image,” Junior Palaree Thongkwan said.

Women who find themselves at odds with their weight oftentimes turn to dietary aids and supplements in hopes that it will take the least amount of time possible to achieve the lowest weight possible – whether it be the diet plan, the diet pill or the diet soda.

Dieting is a practice that can be especially precarious to high school girls.

What starts as counting calories can lead to skipping meals and ultimately eating disorders, in the worst case scenario. In many situations, dieting can also drive girls to take up smoking as a means to keep extra weight off.

A study conducted by the University of Minnesota reveals that reading dieting articles, something that seems harmless in itself, can even have detrimental effects on girls’ health.

The study found that girls would be twice as likely to experiment with weight loss five years later.

Out of all age groups, teenage girls are the most deprived of the nutrients needed to sustain a healthy growth.

Osteoporosis, the disintegration of bone mass, is a major health concern in women and can be attributed to deficiencies in calcium and vitamin D which can easily occur from dieting.

According to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, roughly 50 percent of all high school girls diet in order to lose weight. However, it is important to note that the vast majority of females who diet actually gain more weight; 95 percent of diets fail in the end.

By no means do these statistics encourage the exact opposite; overkill in nutrition and exercise is far from the answer either. This is a common misconception that drives females to the other extreme of the spectrum.

Such flawed reasoning does not justify misinterpreting the meaning of “healthy.”

What some women fail to realize is that there is a fine line between this and being obsessive. “I think women should just learn to eat healthily and in moderation instead of dieting because that’s just going to hurt [them] in the long run,” Junior Stephanie Truong said.

In an ideal world where politicians kept their promises, drivers gave each other the right of way and students actually slept the eight to nine hours they are supposed to, all women would also know that a number on the scale does not reflect their worth.

Top ten ways to diet effectively Staff Editorial: Dieting industry embedded in American lives

10. Chew gum. Lots of gum.

9. Muzzles.

8. Buy tiny plates and tiny utensils for tiny portions.

7. Have a trained attack dog guard your refrigerator from everybody – including you.

6. Just pretend you already ate; visualization is the key.

5. Hypnotize yourself so that you are no longer hungry.

4. Eat food in your dreams. You will be fulfilled.

3. Read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.

2. Don’t eat for a very long time and when you feel like you’re about to faint, have a cheese cube.

1. Love your body. Then you’ll never have to diet ever again.

Compiled by Ingar Wang Editor-in-Chief

Infographic: How do you diet?

BOYS

GIRLS 46% Eating Right 37% 38% 12%

Exercise 36% Plans

20%

3% Not Eating 5% 1%

Pills

2% Compiled by Alex Tsai Source: 200 students

Culturally, Americans have always felt pressure to be slim and stylish, and this pressure has led to huge growth in the diet industry: an industry built on the bodies of individuals caught in the nets of social pressure and unhealthy lifestyles.

While it is true that many people are forced to diet because they are overweight or have eaten too much unhealthy and processed food, the diet industry has a particularly strong and sinister hold on individuals who are simply very insecure about themselves whether it be their weight or the shape of their bodies.

The diet industry, aside from distributing pills to curb hunger and miracle plans to strip off a person’s fat in mere days, also has much more subtle and less conspicuous ways of luring in self-conscious Americans. Often, the diet industry will market foods with tags such as “lite” or “fat free” and instead of being healthier choices, these foods are stuffed with their own sorts of unhealthy and toxic chemicals which are the result of cheap and artificial processing in order to make money off of health-conscious Americans who are not aware of what is being put into their food.

However, the dieting industry affects more than just wary people attempting to evade food saturated in fats, carbs, sugars and who knows what else.

For many, dieting becomes a cycle that spirals out of control and is something that affects men as well as women. Instead of promoting a healthier lifestyle, dieting has created an obsessive habit that will often lead to serious and even debilitating health problems that not only affect the body but the mind as well.

People with eating disorders often are the most common victims to the dieting industry as they are the ones most desperate to lose weight or purge themselves of food. There are also heavy dieters who, although they may not have eating disorders will still skip meals and meticulously count calories in order to prevent themselves from becoming overweight or unhealthy. However, by avoiding meals so frequently and trying not to eat at all costs, these people end up suffering from maladies such as malnutrition or vitamin deficiencies.

Instead of falling victim to the diet industry, proper nutrition and the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle must be taught across the country in order to halt the dieting craze that has pervaded the American culture.

Males not prominent targets in expanding diet industries Ankur Bhagat staff writer

Whether it is through dieting pills, fitness programs or eating plans, “weight-watching” companies have been able to accumulate surmounting profits without actually benefiting the consumer.

Statistics show that men’s attitudes towards dieting vary: some men are interested in gaining weight and muscle while others are more concerned about losing both muscle and fat.

“Men are quite different [compared to women] in that they may prefer to gain weight,” Sophomore Oomung Varma said.

Unlike women who generally favor weight loss, men who choose to get involved with so-called “weight watching” companies may not always want to lose weight.

On the contrary, men who are more conscientious may make greater efforts in managing their weight.

Instead of simply ceasing to eat snack foods for

example, some men commonly purchase protein shakes to build muscle mass.

Although dieting companies distribute protein supplements to men who are looking for muscle gain, most typically purchase these supplements at retail stores.

In fact, the majority of males are not aware that these items are also available through the nutrition and dieting industries.

Since most males either join a dieting program or take a trip to the junk food aisle of the grocery store, it could be said that men play a somewhat lesser role in supporting dieting companies.

While men do not directly contribute to the dieting industry, dieting is a practice that certainly exerts a very powerful influence on men that get involved in it. In fact, the impact of dieting can lead to destructive ramifications.

Male athletes in particular face pressure to keep close watch of their weight because sports such as

wrestling emphasize weight classes in order for an athlete to compete.

Athletes frequently find that they may need to lose, gain or maintain a certain weight to qualify for a competitive event. Accordingly, some are compelled to binge eat, starve themselves or induce vomiting, detrimental behaviors that can manifest into other self-destructive habits.

Dieting and other irregular eating patterns promoted by dieting companies has caused many problems such as eating disorders, heart disease and diabetes. With respect to gender, heart disease is significantly higher in women than it is in men.

Reports claim that most people actually regain their fat after the dieting program is completed. Regardless of unsuccessful dieting regimens, dieting companies still manage to earn up to 65 million dollars in profits.

“The dieting industry has been known to be of no help with permanent weight loss and has caused consumers many problems,” Junior Jeff Xu said.

a’s appetite TaminasgpartaAmemeric addiction cause serious health Caffeine and

problems

Alice Koh staff writer

Qu

ote

My Viewpoint: Does glutto Julian Crown In tough and troubling times, the government can only hope that people will do one thing: spend, spend and spend.

Gluttony, the overindulgence and over-consumption of material goods, often food or drink, is ridiculed for its ties to selfishness and materialism. Nevertheless, this undesirable characteristic does have its benefits.

When faced with a recession, the government spends; implementing public works projects, economic stimulus packages and virtually anything to get American consumers spending again. For the economy, gluttony is fuel.

As people spend gluttonously, they inject money into the market, which is good for any economy, especially for an economy facing a recession. When money is pumped into the economy, markets grow, businesses hire more workers and all are happy. In an economy as desperate as America’s, gluttony is probably the best thing we could hope for.

“Our economy is like a starving child. Right now, the best thing for it is gluttony,” Senior Sam Pandey said.

But, when consumers overspend and corporations and their CEOs act gluttonously, the results can be disastrous.

Take the housing crisis, for example. Millions of individuals took loans that they could not pay. And creditors gladly gave no- to very-low interest rate loans to people with annual salaries too insubstantial to pay off the debt anytime soon. The bankers were greedy. The debtors were greedy as

s u o

box

?

When Howard Schultz founded Starbucks Coffee Company in 1971, the CEO could hardly expect the severe impact that his company would have upon the health of millions of Americans.

Today, even in times of recession, one can expect to find a Starbucks store flooded with customers at 8 a.m. It has become a necessity to mentally brace oneself for an endless line. While this may now appear to be the norm, the United States alone imports almost a third of the world’s coffee. And unlike people of other nations who stop by a café to have a chat or sip over an occasional cup of coffee, America runs on that same caffeine supply to get through the day.

Coffee has evolved to become an irreplaceable part of American culture.

Although its high caffeine content is well-known for temporarily increasing alertness level and attention span, the side effects from excessive amounts of caffeine – tense muscles, nausea, ringing ears – cannot be overlooked.

Hopeless and dismal feelings increase from the growing guilt of caffeine’s detrimental effects mixed with an uncontrollable addiction.

“Although I know the bad effects of caffeine, I still enjoy the occasional Starbucks,” Junior Yoojung Kim said.

But coffee is not the only item on the menu that has been increasingly popular over the years: the skyrocketing popularity of chewing gum, carbonated beverages and fast food has caused America to overlook the cause of its ever-expanding waistline – gluttony. This over-indulgence in food and drink has helped contribute to America’s title as the fattest nation in the world.

Consequently, Americans attempt to assuage their guilt by resorting to “zero-calorie” foods they take for health purposes and are beguiled into buying the “sugar-free” drink. This “sugar-free” label warns of the product aspartame, an artificial sweetener commonly recognized as Equal or Nutrasweet.

Indeed it is sugar-free, fat-free, you name it – but in reality, as the Congressional Record states, these alternatives will only “[make] you crave carbohydrates and will make you fat.”

People, as an informed and active public, need to contribute in tackling the gluttony rampant in society.

Veering away from this gluttony teaches discipline and self-control – an extremely lacking quality in American society.

The solution, however, is not a matter of selfdeprivation or hatred of food.

It is a matter of having a clear conscience that holds itself above the temptations of man’s discriminating palate.

glu

: How

are you

“I eat Twinkies when no one is looking.”

“Espresso.”

n o t glut

– Senior Sam Pandey – Andrew Holland, English Dept.

“I can drink a full glass of milk in about two seconds.”

– Junior Shalin Desai

“I like to eat and eat and eat. I am surprised that I am not fat.”

– Freshman Nick Riqueros “I shove free food in my mouth and chew.”

“I am too busy eating to be gluttonous.”

Infographic: When d

– Sophomore Tristan Ma – Joe Kerwin, Social Science Dept.

Compiled by Leon Chen and Mary Gong Staff Writers

Depression 21%

Allnighters 13%

10. Eat all the food in one day.

9. Break a few teeth to make chewing harder.

Avo id

8. Switch to snazzy, slim and skinny jeans that will torture your waist.

6. Have someone barricade the kitchen when it is not meal time.

5. Get laser eye surgery that will make everything you eat look like maggots.

4. Look at the McDonalds nutrition facts table. Then look at the burger in your hand.

3. If your salivary gland causes you to sin, cut it off.

2. Take a picture of yourself weekly. Notice the increasing waistline.

1. Remember that last time you pigged out on beans?

Compiled by Christine Yen Staff Writer

ony benefit the economy? well, purchasing multi-million-dollar homes with five-digit salaries. Gluttony pervaded the housing market, creating a bubble that inevitably popped in late 2008.

The same gluttonous overspending has created similar problems in Calif., which faces a 24 billion dollar defi;cit due to uncurbed government spending. Banks and corporations face bankruptcy because of greedy CEOs who would rather spend on themselves than their companies. Healthcare costs have skyrocketed as insurance has become an over-indulged, profit-driven market.

“Spending money will always be good for the economy.

But if it’s just spent to go to CEOs, it doesn’t mean anything,” Senior Vishaal Dokras said.

Big businessmen and corporate executives, despite their corporations’ problems, still pile multi-million bonuses onto their hundred-million dollar salaries while laying off thousands of employees to increase profit margins. The public was outraged when, just last March, AIG reported it would be paying multi-million dollar bonuses to its executives after receiving billions in bailout dollars and letting go of many members of the staff.

“I was outraged with what AIG did. This kind of greedy behavior is exactly what’s wrong with the American economy today,” Junior Sankalp Gowda said.

So while the best thing for America today might be to have everyone spend a little more than they really need to, over-indulgence is clearly not the answer for a sustainable American economy.

America: Eating for Eating’s Sake Sarah Kho staff writer

Boredom 31%

Stress 29%

Parties 6%

Compiled by Alvin Tseng Staff Writer Source: 100 students

do you indulge in food?

America has come in first again: we are the fattest nation in the world.

America’s demand for “more, more, more” has made no exception for food. The food-filled fridge in many homes explains the obesity phenomenon: America has turned into a country of couch potatoes stuffing their bellies with a ever growing quantities of food.

Enamored with sweets and processed foods surging with synthetic substances, Americans should not be surprised that their intake of fats and carbohydrates surpasses beyond comparison that of other country’s around the world, where frozen food is never a meal option and sweets are rarely consumed.

This is not to suggest that people of foreign nations do not appreciate good food. But they do remember that caloric intake should be kept in moderation, for the

essential purpose of food is to keep us in healthy, working condition, not to satisfy our desires.

“Just because the food is there doesn’t mean we have to eat it,” Sophomore Betty Hu said.

Americans can easily conjure a myriad of excuses to put their hand in a bag of potato chips. It is unfortunate that such people fail to realize the many detriments of cleaning off eight servings of deep-fried potato chips: diabetes, stroke, heart disease and cancer.

A study conducted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that 21 percent of the American population is obese.

Also, 300,000 deaths each year are associated with obesity, second only to tobacco.

“There has been so much talk recently about reforming the healthcare system. What deserves just as much, if not more, attention is how we can reform our [own] health,” Junior Ashlee Chai said.

rges ous U

7. Become a monk. Banish your material desires.

G

on tt lu

uttony

Top 10 Ways to

10

feature

NOVEMBER 18, 2009

Key Club works with Sunday Friends to break cycle of poverty Alison Lee sports editor

Members of the school’s Key Club will express their concern for the less fortunate this Nov. by volunteering for Sunday Friends, a local charity group that offers help to underprivileged families.

Sunday Friends is a charity organization in San Jose that has a mission statement to “break the cycle of poverty” in the city. To achieve this, they encourage families to help each other.

The organization brings together volunteers and low-income families who work together on community service projects. In exchange for their contributions, the families receive tickets, which they can either save or redeem for basic necessities such as school supplies and personal hygiene products.

Sunday Friends also offers classes where parents and adults learn about budgeting and financial management. Sometimes families will even help prepare nutritional meals, which promotes healthy eating habits in people of all ages.

Children who participate often make craft projects for seniors or other groups in need of charity.

On Nov. 22, Key Club members will go to Sunday Friends for a program which families attend to earn their supplies and “shop guides” to help the organization conduct games for children and supplies for adults.

Key Club Project Coordinator Sophomore Lochan Shah organized the event on behalf of the club because she wanted Key Club to become more involved in community service events that deal with problems outside Almaden Valley and the school community.

“This event is really fun because we can interact with the people we are helping and it’s always nice to help out people who are not as fortunate,” Key Club President Junior Asami Osato said.

Key Club’s goal is not only to recruit more members, but also to get more people involved in volunteering.

“During the holiday season, more people start signing up for volunteering events.

However, Key Club wants to send the message that volunteering can be year round.

In hard economic times like these, we need more people to help those who are the most affected by it. Sunday Friends is not our only volunteering event. Anyone is welcome to join,” Key Club Vice President Junior Kenneth Lee said.

Students volunteer with local shelter Top ten things to donate to help Santa Clara County families 10. Donate your pants, smarty.

Christine Yen

staff writer

Aspiring to aid homeless families throughout Santa Clara County, Family Supportive, Inc. provides temporary shelter and services to help them become self-sufficient individuals in the community.

San Jose Family Shelter is geared towards supporting families in Santa Clara County and hosts single parents with children and intact families. Working professionals who cannot find affordable housing are also eligible to stay.

Although most homeless families have at least one member working full-time, they struggle to earn enough money to compensate for housing, food, clothing and other basic life necessities.

Even though there are many organizations and churches that strive to keep the shelter running, volunteers are always appreciated. In addition to food, clothing and shelter, Family Supportive Housing provides various services to assist both children and adults through educational classes, workshops and support groups.

Family Supportive Housing is willing to accept volunteers with any time, skills, talents or equipment offered. Volunteers work directly with residents or the public.

Individual and group volunteer activities include serving dinner, being a clothes closet aide, decorating for events and much more.

As Family Supportive Housing is always in need of resources and donations of little things like children’s clothes or bed linens, any small contribution could make a big difference.

“Helping others feels good and you give back to the community,” Senior Victoria Perez said.

All volunteers receive an introductory orientation at the shelter and receive proper training when they first join.

“Volunteering at Family Supportive Housing sounds like a really interesting oppurtunity that I’d like to grasp. Even if it’s just a few hours of volunteering, once those hours add up it could make a big difference,” Sophomore Ayano Watanabe said.

9. Your DNA, to create a better version of yourself.

8. Cans for the Can Jam. Helping the poor and getting extra credit points make a happy combination.

7. Those fashionable sweaters your grandma knits.

6. Your hair – you are going to cut it sooner or later anyway.

5. Everyone loves teddy bears.

4. Seize this opportunity to give away your younger siblings.

3. Toys for the future children of Brangelina.

2. Your blood, since Edward Cullen desperately needs it.

1. Sleep. You will not be able to use it in high school.

Compiled by Christine Nham and Bernadeta Baktashian Staff Writers

Project Cornerstone, Support Teams promote positivity in student lives Alice Koh staff writer

Promoting positive relationships, opportunities, values and skills to students, Project Cornerstone is an organization that works with the Santa Clara local schools to guide students’ lives toward a brighter future.

Project Cornerstone and the school’s Student Support Team, which is a group of teachers, parents and youth interested in improving the school climate for each student, are partnering to create a more caring school climate.

Founded in 1999, this project has been helping young children from elementary to high school by placing trained staff within schools to help control the school’s enviroment and keep the students healthy and safe.

It has been lauded by schools and students alike.

Kelly Noftz, Youth Partnerships Coordinator, facilitated staff training for the school staff on Staff Development Day on Nov. 10.

In addition, diverse groups of students from the school, including people from the wrestling team, Advanced Journalism, Associated Student Body (ASB) and Speech and Debate, volunteered time from their busy schedules to participate in Focus Groups.

To gain a new perspective on the importance of climate surveys, students addressed school climate concerns. This was the first time that students in the Focus Groups had the opportunity to view the results of the annual school climate survey.

For the Speech and Debate Focus Group, the conversation was held in the Faculty Dining Room. Freshman Kevin Villa and Senior Rachel Deghuee were prominently active participants in discussions. Like all of the Focus Group students, they shared personal stories and proposed solutions to build stronger relationships between students and teachers.

“It was a really interesting experience and it gave me a newfound perspective and appreciation for the school and its staff,” Junior Sydney Villafuerte said.

Project Cornerstone’s School Partnerships Team provides three separate programs, including a Bullying and Peer-Abuse Prevention Workshop, Asset Building Champions (ABC) and Cultural Heritage Asset Programs (CHAPs) for students, parents and teachers.

The Bullying and Peer-Abuse Prevention Workshop primarily focuses on reducing bullying on campus by helping students develop leadership skills and moving from a role of bystander to the active role of Upstander which is a positive influence on the target and helps the bully learn how to break out of the bullying cycle.

“Project Cornerstone is a great project that should be enforced,” Sophomore Nancy Hu said.

With more than 200 partner schools in Santa Clara County, Project Cornerstone is spreading a newfound, contagious belief that youth have a vital voice and ensuring that their needs are addressed in public policy.

feature

The Charger Account

11

Hedge fund controversy culprit Raj Rajaratnam caught on bail Ryan Chow and David Kang staff writers

In the third week of Oct., 51-year-old Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam was arrested for a continuous insider trading scheme.

The stock market is based on the fundamental idea of competition, but when a small group of people hedge funds – in other words, have enormous power over the masses, or the rest of the world – only a small number of people benefit while most suffer financially. Government regulation would make the stock market fairer for small investors and, consequently, make the economy more stable.

Hedge funds are essentially a system where a large group of investors trust their money to one person, who then uses their extensive knowledge to best invest the money.

Unfortunately, the staggering potential of hedge funds also makes this type of investment extremely dangerous and volatile. In order to prevent enormous and detrimental fluctuations in the economy, hedge funds need to be regulated by government agencies, such as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Because hedge funds are completely privately owned, they are also completely unregulated. Furthermore, Credit Suisse estimates that half of the New York and London Stock Exchanges consist of hedge funds. This means that investment managers can potentially make investments that may hurt the global economy for their own benefit.

“I would feel much more comfortable about the economy if I knew that the government would prevent hedge funds from hurting small investors,” Sophomore Arno Gau said.

For example, most economic analysts blame hedge funds for the inflation of American oil prices in 2006. The investment managers, because they controlled so

What are you expecting from Microsoft Windows 7?

“I’m expecting quicker response and faster boot times.”

– Sophomore Tej Modi

“Well, you can only go up from [Windows] Vista.”

– Junior Eric Torres “I’m expecting it to break.”

– Sophomore Junseok Lee

“I expect it to be Microsoft’s attempt to recreate its image after its failure with Windows Vista.”

– Freshman Bang Nguyen “Better visuals and faster speeds.”

“Uh, I’m a Mac.” “I expect it to work.”

– Sophomore Samuel Lee – Junior Teresa Giovanetti – Senior Brian Yeh

“Is there supposed to be something special about it?”

– Sophomore Chris Lee “I’m expecting it to be inside computers.”

– Senior Robert Ott

Compiled by David Kang Staff Writer

much money, were able to increase the price of oil by purchasing and selling certain oil industry-related stocks. Consequently, a few investors made money, but the rest of America suffered from much higher gasoline prices.

On Oct. 16, Rajaratnam was arrested on a 100 million dollar bail. The richest Sri Lankan in history, Rajaratnam’s scandal was unearthed by the FBI following tapped phone conversation with investors. Currently, the Galleon Group founder is searching for an acquisition.

The prosecutors of the case believe that this scandal could be the largest system of insider trading in history. Among his accomplices were Rajiv Goel, an executive at Intel Capital, and Anil Kumar, an executive director at McKinsey & Co. Other affiliate companies included Google, Clearwire and Hilton.

Goel and Kumar have allegedly given tips and stock secrets to Galleon Group.

However, many are discounting the allegations, as it “relies heavily on a single cooperating witness,” Roomy Khan, a former Intel employee, said.

Upon hearing the charges, Rajaratnam had immediately set plans to escape to Sri Lanka, a fact that prosecutors have pointed to as proof of his guilt. Perhaps in a public relations move, Rajaratnam promptly removed all paper shredders from the Galleon office, claiming that the documents will benefit his defense.

Interestingly, some believe that Rajaratnam’s hedge fund scandal could have been stopped as early as eight years ago. Back in 2000 when an employee from Intel decided to sneak company information to Galleon, the court prosecuted the employee, but did not bother to pursue Rajaratnam. Had they done so, Rajaratnam’s scheme could have been stopped prematurely, protecting other investors.

This is the largest hedge fund case to be put in court, and was the first time that the court authorized the tapping of suspects’ property. The government hopes that this new policy will deter future hedge fund scandals, and if prosecuted, Rajaratnam’s fate would set a strong precedent.

Microsoft releases operating system

Leon Chen staff writer

On Oct. 22, Microsoft released their newest operating system, Windows 7, to replace the frequently criticized Windows Vista as the face of Microsoft Windows.

Microsoft has extensively advertised for Windows 7 in a variety of ways. To promote their new product, Microsoft created several commercials starring young children. The children were shown performing tasks such as making movies and combining pictures, showing how simple and userfriendly Windows 7 is.

Windows Vista was called inefficient and inferior to Windows XP, and Windows 7 tries to distance itself from its predecessors. As a result of people commonly calling Vista slow and bloated, Windows 7 attempts to correct its previous mistakes. Windows 7 fine-tunes several aspects of the past systems, trying to bring out the best of both worlds.

As a matter of fact, Windows 7 is not a revolutionary change over Vista, but still boasts several improvements that add up to an increased ease of use. For instance, the remote access is made more convenient and the touch and handwriting mechanisms have been improved.

“Windows 7 is a lot faster, the interface is simpler and easier to use, and certain applications work better on [the new system],” Junior Charley Yan said.

The main improvements of Windows 7 are not immediately apparent but are still important.

Some background improvements have also been made, turning up the general feel of the operating system, such as faster boot times and overall quickness.

“I’m really looking forward to getting Windows 7, because the new interface seems much more user-friendly,” Senior Audrey Walicek said.

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, said that this version of Windows was more user-oriented than the others. It was designed to be more of an update than anything entirely new. He has high hopes for Windows 7 and wants to have made a system that is the best in everything it does, from gaming to word processsing.

“I’m going to get it because it’s a more efficient operating system,” Scot Gillis, Social Science Dept., said.

In the end, Microsoft’s new operating system is a decent addition to the Windows family.

Windows 7 improves upon many of the faults of its predecessors while not forgetting to include new features as well. With its various upgrades and welcoming features, Windows 7 attempts to become the strongest version of Windows yet.

Modern medical advancements develop to meet new needs Mary Gong staff writer

With the increase of new bacteria and viruses around the world, modern day medicine has also needed to step up in order to protect mankind against these new diseases.

The two most recently developed vaccines were against the H1N1 virus and the HIV virus.

Recently, with the outbreak of H1N1, commonly known as swine flu, scientists around the world have worked to develop a vaccine against this new pandemic, which could potentially kill hundreds of thousands of people if not treated.

In response to this problem, the World Health Organization (WHO) met on May 14 to discuss the production and administration of the vaccine for H1N1. The main problem with the vaccine was the fact that the H1N1 virus adapts rapidly to different environments, which causes the existence of multiple strains of the virus.

“Modern day medicine needs to be able to evolve faster so that we will be able to have vaccines available for every new strain of virus,” Junior Dat Pham said.

In order to produce an effective vaccine, scientists and researchers had to accommodate for possible strains. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) identified over 80 different strains that may be used in the vaccine. Testing for the vaccine began in July.

By Oct. 24, there were 30 million doses of the vaccine available in the United States, less than the amount that was originally expected. The Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health approved the vaccine, and its side effects include sore arms and fevers. “I am really glad that the swine flu vaccine is now available. However, we need to have more doses available so that everyone can get it,” Sophomore Lishan Zhu said.

For the HIV virus, however, the development of a vaccine is nowhere nearly as simple. While there is still no known cure for HIV, recent clinical trials show the results of a new, possible vaccine. In Thailand, the clinical trial, RV 144, started in Oct. 2003 with 16,000 participants, and has recently released efficiency findings this Sept. The trial used a combination of six different vaccines over six months.

According to the trial, those who received the vaccines had a 31.2 percent lower infection rate than those who did not.

The results of this trial have provided valuable information for future approaches and clinical studies in developing the cure for HIV. The virus is believed to be derived from primates.

Others, however, do not support the advancements in modern medicine.

“Vaccines are a foolish idea. People need to build up natural immunities against viruses like these. Even though people may die, it is imperative that people become stronger,” Sophomore Kazi Najib said.

However, for the most part, vaccines are becoming readily made available for the general public. Students of the San Jose Unified School District who are interested in getting vaccinated for the H1N1 virus have been promised free vaccinations upon the completion of a parental consent form. This form was handed out in students’ English classes on Thurs., Nov. 5, and was accepted by the school up until Thurs., Nov. 12.

This arrangement has garnered positive reviews from the student population at the school, as many have complained about the difficulties of getting vaccinated due to hospital crowding.

“The monstrous lines for the vaccine reflects the direness of the situation,” Junior Samuel Lin said. “By choosing to administer vaccines at school, the district can target the greatest at-risk population.”

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feature

November 18, 2009

Kitchen Critic: El Grullense Emilie Jehng

Comprised of just four walls, a roof and two windows (one for drive-thru and another for street customers), El Grullense is simple and unremarkable.

Like the food, the exterior, a faded sea-foam green and muted red, offers no flair or personality. In the kitchen are two employees: one to take the orders and one to make the orders. Naturally, wait time is a good five to six minutes even with limited customers.

El Grullense’s pork taco is very average, to say the least.

The taco literally consists of shredded pork paired with salsa and held together by two tortillas. The pork is dry and tasteless, resulting in an uncomfortable texture.

The fried tortillas are fried, but are also flat, not quite crispy and uninteresting. Which poses the question: why fry the tortillas when the end result is not crispy? The salsa is the hero in this poor combination, but it still does not save the dish.

Next on the menu was sope, a traditional Mexican dish that originated in the city of Culiacan. The toppings of the Sope, refried beans, beef, shredded lettuce, guacamole and salsa are piled atop a thick crust, made of masa. However, the crust is too thick and tough, making it hard to swallow.

To top off the meal is the Super Burrito with carne asada.

The burrito is roughly seven inches in length, making it impossible and also unwise to eat the burrito in one sitting.

The tortilla is stretched thin, holding together the rice, refried beans, carne asada, cheese, salsas, guacamole and sour cream. Disappointingly, the carne asada is diced into small, unrecognizable bits.

El Grullense is relatively affordable and ranks above normal fast food joints, but it still cannot beat other wellknown Mexican restaurants. Tacos and sopes are two to three dollars, and burritos are priced at six to seven dollars.

Despite its over-sized burritos and common Mexican food staples, El Grullense lacks flair and thus receives oneand-a-half out of five spoons.

Day of the Dead encourages celebrating death, not mourning Eileen Chen feature editor

On Nov. 1 and 2, Mexico and other Latin American countries celebrated the Day of the Dead to commemorate death, which they believe to be a transition from life on earth to existence in another world.

Also known as the Cult of Death, this annual tradition allows people to have an upbeat outlook on death by dancing, feasting and worshipping at altars. During these activities, people think of the spirits of their ancestors that rest in the special destination known as Mictlan. Day of the Dead is an opportunity for the living to communicate with the dead. It is considered the religious and more serious version of America’s Halloween.

Some of the teachers at the school remember celebrating the holiday as children. “We would go to the cemetery and hold ceremonies for those that have died. We also leave the person’s favorite dish on their grave because we believe that their spirit comes back [to] eat those foods,” Roberto Gutierrez, Foreign Language Dept., said.

Though people generally view death as an unhappy event, those who celebrate Day of the Dead do not mind thinking of loved ones who passed away and so honor those loved ones by celebrating the holiday.

“What I like about Day of the Dead are the colorful decorations, the parties and the good food,” Freshman Jasmine Duran said.

People begin the festivities by harvesting the cempasuchitl, known as the flower of the dead with twenty petals. This flower, along with vegetables, fruits and other special dishes, is placed on the altar for the spirits of the dead to enjoy.

On the first day of Nov., people hold the ritual of the Vigil of the Little Angels; this ceremony is most common in Lake Patzcuaro, Michoacan.

During these formal rituals, little girls dress in satin blouses, colorful skirts and white pinafores, which are traditional Tarascan feminine clothing. The next day, people hold vigils in the cemetery to reflect on the lives of their ancestors. In some towns, mariachi bands play music while people pray to the deceased.

These activities are both solemn and joyful. People decorate their homes, create special crafts, write poetry and make amaranth skulls, which are exchanged among friends and relatives so that they may “eat their own death.”

“Because I am Hispanic, [Day of the Dead] represents a way of celebrating death other than tears. We honor them as if [the dead were] alive and we celebrate with the altars and the food we prepare,” Carla Lucarotti, Foreign Language Dept., said.

For more information about Day of the Dead, visit www.dayofthedead.com.

Veterans Day: Honoring Hurricane brings sorrow south of the border Instead of finishing at Baja California as the heroes of the country M G staff writer predicted, Rick skimmed the tip of peninsula and ary

On Nov. 11 of each year, the nation celebrates the valiant service of all the veterans who have served in the armed forces, some sacrificing their own lives to defend their country.

These veterans have performed the highest service possible for this country and, even though there is only one day commemorating them, these brave men and women should be celebrated and appreciated every day of the year for so courageously devoting their lives to the protection of the liberties, ideals and safety of the American people.

There are few citizens of this nation that can match the heroism, dedication and love for their country that is shown by members of the armed services whether they served in the Army, Navy, Air Force or National Guard.

There are few citizens who rise to the occasion quite like the fine men and women who serve our country.

There are few citizens who deserve this day more than the daring defenders of our peace and our security.

ong

On Oct. 21, Hurricane Rick moved northeast, along the tip of Baja California Sur and towards Mazatlan, Mexico, killing a total of four people.

Hurricane Rick began several hundred miles southeast of Acapulco, Mexico, in an area of low pressure on Oct. 15. Due to warm temperatures and high moisture levels, what had originally been a tropical depression was declared a hurricane within 24 hours.

One day later, the eye of the hurricane began to take real form and Hurricane Rick began to strengthen very rapidly again. As a result, Rick was proclaimed to be a Category 5 hurricane, the highest possible category on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, and attained peak winds of 180 miles per hour as well as a pressure of 906 mbar, making it the fiercest and strongest hurricane since the Pacific Hurricane Linda struck in 1997.

“I blame global warming for causing the hurricane,” Junior Omana Margapuram said.

Originally, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicted that the hurricane would make landfall in Baja California as a Category 2 hurricane. As a result, officials of the peninsula ordered several hundred residents in low-lying areas to evacuate their homes and hurricane watches were broadcasted over parts of the peninsula.

However, by Oct. 19, the hurricane was downgraded to a Category 3 status, weakened by wind shear. The following day, Hurricane Rick was demoted to a mere tropical storm as the hurricane continued to weaken.

continued towards the Mexican state of Sinaloa. In addition, the hurricane watches were replaced with tropical storm warnings.

Overall, the damage from the storm was indeed notably less than what was originally anticipated.

In Oaxaca and Acapulco, beaches and ports were closed down due to the rough sea conditions produced by Hurricane Rick. Furthermore, schools were closed down in southern Sinaloa due to the arrival of the storm.

However, in the low-lying areas of Texas and Mexico, there was flooding from the rain, approximately 300 homes were left without power. The storm caused structural damage as well as significant traffic issues due to mudslides and closed roads.

In Cabo San Lucas, about 320 people had to be relocated because of flooding concerns. The rain caused mudslides, which also caused traffic problems and structural damage to several buildings.

Trees and street signs were blown down by the harsh wind and some residents lost electricity in their homes.

In Texas, another woman was killed as a result of the intense storms. She died after being swept away on a flooded roadway.

“I think this is a depressing matter. In the state Mexico is currently in, its future looks cloudy,” Senior Sam Pandey said.

The moisture caused by Rick produced several thunderstorms in the southern states and three small tornadoes in La., which damaged buildings and left numerous residents without power.

“Hurricane Rick was a very unfortunate event and I hope nothing like it happens again,” Freshman Nick Riqueros said.

entertainment 13 Three top artists release anticipated new albums The Charger Account Ankur Bhagat staff writer

Some highly anticipated albums to be released this month include Rihanna’s “Rated R,” John Mayer’s “Battle Studies” and 50 Cent’s “Before I Self Destruct.”

Rihanna’s new album “Rated R,” scheduled for release on Nov. 23, will be her fourth studio album and serves as a sequel to “Good Girl Gone Bad.” Several songs in this album have been produced by pop stars such as Stargate, Justin Timberlake and Tricky Stewart.

“This album is supposed to be quite different from others before, so I am [anticipating] its release,” Senior Lydia So said.

The album cover was intended to be unique; many photographs were taken until a grainy black and white picture was chosen, depicting the “R&B Queen” with her hand over her face. Ellen von Unwerth, the photographer who worked with Rihanna, was impressed with Rihanna’s cooperation and dedication throughout the photoshoot.

After a long wait since the release of his album “Continuum” in 2006, Mayer and co-producer Steve Jordan prepare for the debut of “Battle Studies” which will be released on Nov. 20. “Battle Studies” is a calming sequence of light California rock and pop.

Mayer also invited Taylor Swift to appear on his single “Half of My Heart.”

“Before I Self Destruct” by 50 Cent is set to be released on Nov. 17 and was relatively unheard of until Nov. 1. The media was able to publish stories quickly and post them on the Internet as soon as the information was “leaked.” The album is said to feature many artists such as Dr. Dre and Eminem, but it is not a departure from 50 Cent’s established style or subject matter.

Because media “leaks” onto the Internet have been known to negatively impact the sales of many albums, there is the possibility that 50 Cent’s new album will be affected as well. “When information is leaked onto the Internet before expected, it may alter people’s mindset about the album,” Junior Charley Yan said.

DJ Tiësto stops by Bay Area for Kaleidoscope World Tour

Film Faceoff:

Celine Ryan staff writer

A Christmas Carol

Edward Yang

Hollywood has finally hit rock bottom.

Still not satisfied after ruining my childhood with Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe, the film industry has gone on to mutilate one of the most beloved tales of all time: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

For those who have spent the past couple of centuries confined under a rock, A Christmas Carol tells the story of a miserly old Englishman named Ebenezer Scrooge whose views on Christmas are altered by the appearance of three ghosts on Christmas Eve. However, this newly remastered version of the classic holiday fable shares none of the magic or the beauty of the Christmas story that many of us grew up with. Instead, what Hollywood has unleashed is a terrifying monstrosity that hurtles through Dickens’ Christmas tale with little regard for the morals and heartwarming sentiment of the original novel.

The film itself is a living nightmare. The reanimated London where the story takes place is reminiscient of the streets of Sweeney Todd, while the special 3-D technology employed by director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future) to create life-like characters results in the birth of a gruesome new world of dead-eyed digital zombies.

The children in the film are especially scary.

With their glassy eyes, unnerving smiles and blank stares, they are frighteningly similar to the children in horror flicks.

Instead of portraying the innocence of childhood and the joys of Christmas, these CGIspawned mockeries seem to have been born from the mind of Rob Zombie rather than Rob Zemeckis.

It came to the point where, throughout the course of the film, I heard more screams of terror than nostalgic sighs in the audience.

The Christmas ghosts that visit Scrooge over the course of the film are equally as bizarre and unsettling as the regular people that wander the streets.

The Ghost of Christmas Past looks like some grisly parody of the candlestick from Beauty and the Beast, while the Grim Reaper-esque Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come spends the majority of his appearance slowly extending his finger from one side of the screen to the other. To cap it all off, the Ghost of Christmas Present, the spectral embodiment of Christmas cheer, slowly rots away into a skeleton and reveals two scary child zombies under his robe. Watching all this take place, I couldn’t help but wonder what sort of horrors the 3-D version next door was unleashing.

Unless you want to replace your vision of sugar plums with nightmares of being shrunk and run over by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, I strongly advise you to save whatever Christmas cheer you have for the holidays and avoid watching A Christmas Carol at all costs. For its lackluster performance, unbelievably grotesque characters and a complete absence of Christmas spirit, A Christmas Carol gets one out of five stars.

Courtesy of Google Images

Rachel Wagner

In some ways, Disney’s family movie for the holiday season, A Christmas Carol, stays true to Charles Dickens’ original novel, but the gloomy and sinister sequences of the film question whether it is a family movie at all.

Like other adaptations of Charles Dickens’ novel, this one also follows the same basic plotline: Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey), a wizened and heartless old man who is kind to no one, learns the error of his ways when he is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve; the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.

However, unlike some other adaptations, the makers of this movie succeeded in creating a plot that remains faithful to the genuine story.

The movie uses much of the original dialogue from the novel and does not make the story cute and childish like other adaptations (Muppet Christmas Carol, anyone?).

Unfortunately, the good aspects of A Christmas Carol end here. This movie is a dark and haunting tale, overflowing with eerie special effects and because of this, the movie fails to cater to its target audience: families.

After all, this is a Disney movie, and with the Disney moniker comes the expectation of family fun.

In a family film, one does not expect the main character to be attacked by malnourished, vicious and vengeful apparitions or expect him to plummet into the eternal flames of his grave during the course of the film.

A Christmas Carol is extremely dark for a family movie and the frightening and somewhat alarming sequences of the film are highlighted by the special motion capture animation used in this movie.

Throughout the making of this movie, it seems as if an absurd amount of time was wasted developing impressive yet strange special effects and not enough time devoted to incorporating joyful or comedic scenes. The happy and lighthearted scenes of the movie endure for a very short amount of time before the scene is replaced with one concerning death and destruction.

Comedy is almost completely absent from this movie, but it depends on how morbid one’s sense of humor is. For example, when Scrooge is fleeing the Ghost of Christmas Future’s horses who are beckoning him to eternal damnation, he speaks in a high pitched chipmunk-type voice, no doubt to evoke laughter from audience members with a sickening sense of humor.

For a holiday family movie, A Christmas Carol fails to deliver the family-oriented plot that is expected from a film with the Disney label. In fact, this movie is an excellent way to dampen anyone’s holiday spirits.

On Nov. 21, the Cow Palace near San Francisco will feature Dutch DJ Tiësto during his Kaleidoscope World Tour.

Spanning five continents, the Kaleidoscope Tour includes 150 official tour dates. The Cow Palace is just one of the venues in the United States. Tiësto’s schedule is mainly concentrated in South America, where he will perform in countries such as Columbia, Panama, Brazil, Bolivia, Costa Rica and Chile. Other destinations for Tiësto include locations in Canada, Australia and Denmark.

The tour serves as the launch for his new album, similarly titled Kaleidoscope. Leading up to the current tour, Tiësto has expressed much uncertainty regarding his fans’ reaction to the new album. “It is completely different to what I did before,” Tiësto said.

The album is being released under a new record label, Musical Freedom, cutting off his previous affiliation with Black Hole Records.

Tickets for the show at the Cow Palace are currently selling for about 60 dollars. It is predicted that there will be a considerably high attendance rate, considering that Tiësto has been the first DJ ever to sell out a stadium seating over 25,000 people. “I’m so excited; I might finally get to see Tiësto,” Junior Sheila Warnes said.

That is not the full extent of Tiësto’s achievements and breakthroughs in the world of electronic music.

After all, it was his own creation, a remix of “Delirium”

by Innocente, featuring Sarah McLachlan’s “Silence,” which became the first instrumental track to be heard on North American daytime radio.

Tiësto has won a total of 34 awards for his music as well as a Grammy Nomination for Best Electronic Dance Album for his album “Elements of Life.”

Even more impressive is the acceptance Tiësto receives outside of the dance and electronic music world. Tiesto showcased his talents in front of a worldwide audience during the 2004 Olympics Parade of the Athletes in Athens, Greece, thus displaying the universal appeal of his music.

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sports

November 18, 2009

After successful season, Girls’ Water Polo anticipates CCS

Marvin Lo

staff writer

On Nov. 6, the girls played and beat Live Oak with a final score of 11-7, earning the title of League Champions in the Blossom Valley League Championships.

In addition, they also defeated Santa Teresa during the same weekend with a final score of 11-3.

Although the girls’ have been going strong with a game record of (18-6) and a league record of (5-0), they recently suffered a 7-8 loss against Castileja High School on Oct. 28, whom they previously beat in a close game ending in 9-8.

“It was really frustrating losing to [Castileja] this time, but we will continue to work harder and compete stronger [for CCS],” Caroline Norton ’11 said.

Their first round of CCS was held at Lynbrook High on Nov. 14, where they played against Gunn High. They prepared for CCS by working on their ball-handling, passing and shooting so they would be prepared for any game situation.

“[The team] needs to be more consistent. [The team] can play at the best but [the team] needs consistency in its game play,” Coach Eric Rise said. “We’re going to bring our A-game to CCS.”

The practice has paid off since the girls have done very well this season so far with wins over Sacred Heart, Marymonte and Rio High School.

New members, particularly Ashley Arras ’12, have been performing well on the team.

“Even though it’s her first year as goalie, [Arras] is doing a really good job of preventing the other teams from scoring,” Tam Nguyen ’10 said.

In addition, the seniors Nguyen ’10, Leanne Kirtland ’10, Stacey Koolpe ’10, and Jessica Shortt ’10 have been showing great leadership by helping out the younger players and the JV team to make sure the team will Lo Photo perform well next season Nguyen ’10 focuses on perfecting her shooting. without them.

Girls’ Volleyball closes season with strong record and readily enters CCS Julia Montgomery staff writer

Girls’ Varsity volleyball headed to CCS playoffs last Wed. with a promising first round win.

After games against Los Altos last Wed., the girls came out victorious, ending with the scores 25-13, 25-21, 22-25 and 25-21.

“The Los Altos game was intense!

They were a really good opponent for us.” Rachel Teixeira ’11 said. “[In the end], we won in four games, but it was really close the entire game.”

The girls ended their regular season on Thurs., Nov. 5 against Piedmont Hills. They shut out Piedmont Hills in three games: 25-10, 25-16 and 25-21.

The game, also called Senior Montgomery Photo Night, celebrated the departure of the six varsity members: Allie Zipp ‘10, Fory ’10 spikes the ball, winning an important point.

Nina Consul ’10, Colby Singer ’10, Kayla Fory ’10, Samantha Wilson ’10 and Elina Bushman ’10.

While the varsity team had a rocky start at the beginning, losing three out of their five preseason games to local teams such as Leigh and Sobrato, the girls stepped it up once the official season began.

The team ended their season with a record of (13-1), only losing once in a close 3-2 match against Evergreen, the number one seed in the league.

After the loss, the girls made sure they would win their second home game against Evergreen on Thurs., Oct. 29. “[The varsity team] practiced extra hard so they would be ready for the Evergreen game and it definitely paid off,” Nisha Kumar, ’13, said.

The practice paid off and they defeated the number one team in in three games: 2512, 27-25 and 25-21.

Earlier that week, there was an away game against Live Oak on Tues. Oct. 27. The girls had yet another shut out win in three games: 25-19, 25-22 and 25-15.

Since six of the varsity players will be graduating this year, many girls on JV will be moved up to varsity in the fall of 2010. In the end, team is very happy with their final ranking as 2nd in the league.

“For me, and many [of the girls on the varsity team], this was our last season ever playing high school volleyball. I’m sad the season’s over, but it was awesome that we went out with a bang,” Singer ’10, said.

Girls’ Tennis serves up wins at BVAL Finals

Season wraps up after impressive league final victories Jacquelyn Nguyen staff writer

Girls’ Varsity Tennis season came to a close with a (12-3) record and were given the League Champion title.

“I’m really sad to see the season end because we had a really great team this year,” Jenny MacDonald ’12 said.

Last Wed. the girls began the second round of team CCS championships held at Cuesta Park and played St. Francis who had a record of (15-3).

Last Tues., the girls won their first round of the team CCS Championships against the Salinas Norte Dame High School, who was (11-7).

For the team CCS championships, the girls used a different doubles ladder. The partners for the doubles teams switched up, so the girls played with a new partner.

Three days prior to the first round of team CCS championships, there was a seed meeting that determined the playing order. Coaches from all participating schools met to decide the tournament brackets.

Nguyen Photo Betty Hu ’12 practiced backhand stroke drills for team CCS.

Nguyen Photo Pinson ’12 warms up her forehand before her BVAL match.

On Nov. 3, a week before the team CCS championships began, three of the team members competed in the League Individual Finals.

Stephanie Pinson ’12 and Nisha Parmeshwar ’12 played as a doubles team once again in the doubles division, and Anastasia Glyantseva ’10 was a competitor in the singles division.

During the first round, Pinson and Parmeshwar won their first game, but lost their second game.

The next day, the girls won both their games in the second round which gave them third place in League Finals.

Similar to the doubles partners Pinson and Parmeshwar, Glyantseva won and lost a game in the first round, and she won both her games in the second round. She placed third as well.

Because the girls placed third, they will play in the CCS individual and doubles championship tournament which will be held next Mon. at the Courtside Tennis Club.

“It has been a lot of hard work, but it has definitely paid off. I’m excited to go to [the doubles] CCS matches,” Parmeshwar said.

sports

The Charger Account

15

Tough season comes to an end for Field Hockey Grace Koh staff writer

Approaching the conclusion of the field hockey season, the Varsity Girls played an exceedingly difficult away game against Mitty.

On Nov. 3, the team was unable to defeat the Mitty girls despite their persistent practice and development as a united team. Though both the offensive and defensive components of the team hoped to prevent the opposing team’s quick and agile ball-handling from scoring against them, Mitty attested their proficiency on the field, ending the game with a score of 5-0.

On Oct. 29, the Charger girls played against Los Altos for the second time this season – this time the game was held at home. To their dismay, the girls were unable to claim a victory. Los Altos left the field with a 3-0 win.

“Despite not having many victories this year, the season was a lot better because we worked together a lot better and became more synchronized as a team,” Gurpreet Sidhu ’10 said.

Pumped up by the previous win against St. Ignatius, the girls played against Saratoga on Oct. 27. Unfortunately, the team’s new and improved cooperation on the field, though much better than years before, was not enough to take the victory away from the Saratoga girls. The game concluded with a score of 3-0.

Thus far, although the Chargers have not accomplished many wins in the season, their determination and hardwork cannot go unnoticed. The Varsity team practices five days a week for three hours at a time. They separate into defense and offense to work on separate tactics unique to each area. “We work on getting the ball out of the circle quickly,” Mio Akasako ’10 said.

Even with the lack of wins, the team’s coach, Ruben Reyes, does not pack on extra practices. As a whole, the past season has been a mixture of newfound unity and energy. Instead of the possible pessimistic attitudes that could have surfaced during the season, the girls consistently managed to keep an optimistic and positive view throughout the challenging season.

Koh Photo Divya Patel ’12 struggles with her opponent to gain control of the ball.

Tsai Photo Scott Keighley ’12 attempts to pass the ball to an open teammate down the pool despite a block.

Varsity Boys’ Water Polo satisfied with impressive season despite CCS loss Alex Tsai staff writer

The Varsity Boys’ Water Polo team reached the end of its season with an impressive 19-4 record overall and a 5-0 record in league.

On Sat., Nov. 7, the boys won their second game in the Mount Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League (BVAL) tournament. The game that took place at Live Oak was against Pioneer, and the Varsity boys won 9-8 in a close qualifying game, allowing them to compete in the Central Coast Section (CCS) Championships.

CCS seeds were picked on Nov. 8, and the team played its CCS quarterfinal game against the Los Gatos Wildcats on Nov. 9.

Despite playing a good game, the Chargers were unable to defeat the Wildcats, and dropped out of CCS with a close score of 7-6.

Now that the season has come to a close, Coach Mike Monsees, Science Dept. is proud of the overall outcome of the season. “It was a great surprise the number of athletes that committed to make a great team. The returning six seniors and three starting sophomores created a good and young team that plays well together,” Monsees said.

Members of the team had similar feelings about the season as well. “The season was a lot better than expected; we beat good teams and worked well together,” Josh Nunes ’10 said.

Though the entire season was filled with a lot of great moments, one of the greatest moments was the recent game against Live Oak during which the team played a flawless first three quarters so they could allow reserves to play the last quarter.

Several members of the water polo team are graduating. These seniors are Nunes, Gabe Borden ’10, Evan Camacho ’10, Daniel Burriss ’10, Jon Lie ’10 and Kyle Meggs ’10.

Despite these strong players leaving the team, there are three sophomores who are not only playing their first year on varsity, but also starting for the team as well. John Kane ’12, Chris Asplund ’12 and Jacob Ley ’12 are the three sophomores who will be leading the team for the next two years.

Although the season is now over for the school’s Boys’ Water Polo team, players are already prepared for next year.

“It was a good season, and I’m proud of what the team has accomplished. Coach Monsees is a good coach, and I look forward to next year,” Ishan Shah ’12 said.

Varsity Football ready to fight for CCS championship Lauren Flores staff writer

On Oct. 23, the Chargers defeated the Oak Grove Eagles for the first time in 19 years with an end score of 26-12.

“Leland hasn’t beaten Oak Grove in 19 years, so we knew that we had to play as a team and come out strong. We also played the game for all the alumni. The team pulled together and came out with a big victory,” Ryan Smith ’10 said.

After a strong defensive battle early on, the team drew first blood with a short screen pass from Alex Gonzalez ’10 to Jon Ruel ’10 that he turned into a 46 yard gain and the team’s first score. Oak Grove came back to tie the score in the 2nd quarter to make the score 6-6.

Moments later, Ruel took a handoff and dashed 59 yards for a touchdown, and an extra point from Grant Brownfield ’10 made the score 13-6.

After the half, Donnell Dudley ’11 returned the kickoff 43 yards helping to set up the team, 1st and 10 at their own 47 yard line.

“The key play to the game was when we came out for the second half leading 13-6, got the ball and on the first play of the second half scored a touchdown. Right then, we knew we wanted it more and were better than them,” Mike Economy ’10 said.

On the very next play, Ruel found paydirt again with a 53 yard TD run, followed by Brownfield’s kick to improve the team’s lead to 20-6.

In the 4th quarter Gonzalez connected with Evan Vuckovic ’10 for a nine-yard toss to make the score 26-6. Oak Grove scored a touchdown

in the waning minutes to finish the scoring at 26-12 but it was too late; after 19 years, history was changed.

“The reason for the success within the first eight weeks of the season is due to the players’ committment on and off the field,” Tim Leons, an Assistant Varsity Football Coach, said.

Next up for the school was Piedmont Hills (52). This was already going to be a daunting task for the boys, but adding to the fact that they had to play without some of their biggest playmakers, it became insurmountable. The team fought hard and in the end just fell short of the win with a failed twopoint conversion attempt.

The Chargers were on top early by way of a 97yard kickoff return by Gemette to open the game to make the score 6-0.

Later in the first half they scored again, this time on a 15-yard pass from Gonzales to Brownfield who also converted the extra point to bump the overall score to 13-0.

In the 2nd half, the Chargers scored twice, first on a three-yard run by Gemette and finally on another Gonzales to Brownfield connection, this time for four yards. But Piedmont Hills offense woke up and scored four times to take the game 27-26 in an unfortunate loss for the Charger team.

“We felt confident going into the game. We knew it was going to be tough so we had to do what was best for the team. We were pumped after half when we were up 13-0, especially after scoring again, but were wrong to assume it was over. Everyone gave 100 percent to do what they had to, but we had some mistakes that we plan to fix before the next game,” Gemette said.

Flores Photo Alex Gonzalez ’10 stands to receive the snap from the center.

High School Transitions

Students’ struggle to adjust to changes Bernadeta Baktashian staff writer

Our society has an obsession with stages – infants, toddlers, children, teenagers, adults – and high school acts as the stepping stone to the final stage into maturity.

The school system is set up to help the youth transition as well: preschool to prepare for grade school, grade school to prepare for middle school – it establishes a series of intermediate steps to guide students into the different stages of their lives.

“There are more people [in high school] and it can be intimidating, but you adjust and get used to it,” Junior Aryian Kohandel said.

Students may wander seemingly aimlessly around the halls for four years, and yet once they leave, they find themselves more readily-equipped to face things independently. Whether in the life of the athlete, the artist, the academically sound or even a mix of the three, the moments experienced in high school play a huge roll in defining who a person is.

To put it in perspective, a student experiences new things on a monthly, weekly and daily basis. From something as little as deciding between studying for a test and going out or making

Infographic Middle school to high school Summer to 9% Other school 8% 13% High school to college 34%

Sophomore year to junior year 23% New friends at a new school 13%

Which transition Is the hardest for you?

Compiled by Sarah Kho Source: 100 students

Overheards

“Ew! Broccoli is so good!”

“Remember Frodo Baggins!”

“I’ll have a veggie burrito.”

“With what kind of meat?”

“Do you get it?”

“No, I’m just laughing because you are.”

“We’re in the C-section!”

“Was there a touching moment?”

“Is that a pun?”

“You told me you’re loopy at night!”

“And I thought your name was Norris!”

“Don’t bother Ingar! He is in Narnia!”

the decision at a party on whether or not to take the drink, the subconscious takes these moments and slowly forms both the person presented to the world as well as the mental makeup, thoughts and boundaries of the individual. “[High school] prepares us for the future. A big thing we learn is time management and dealing with difficult people,” Senior Sam Ho said.

Young adults gain responsibility, sometimes acquiring a job and learning what it is like to finally work for themselves, facing challenges among peers and authorities alike, learning to stand up for themselves and allow their voices to be heard. And of course, they spend this transition time questioning their future and what lies ahead.

The courses students take not only represent what they are interested in, but also act as a tool to weed out the subjects that are not for them. As they graduate, students may feel as though they have retained little knowledge in the subject matters they explored, but they are faced with a decision regarding what to study for the rest of their lives and for many the exploration during high school is an irreplaceable tool.

Student Spotlight Former homeschooled student experiences public school

Christine Yen staff writer

Moving from the phase of homeschooling in favor of the public school system, Senior Wonchan Yi joined the school in hope of gaining new experiences in a new environment.

Transitioning through a variety of educational methods in different domains has long been a part of Yi’s life. First homeschooled in eighth grade, he transferred to a private school setting for high school at Bellarmine College Preparatory during his freshman year. He reverted back to homeschooling from tenth to eleventh grade, and recently joined the school for his senior year.

“I am glad that Wonchan finally was able to come to school with us once again. It’s like seventh grade all over again,” Senior Tatsuya Araki said.

During the duration of his homeschooling years, Yi took an independent approach to studying and regulated his schedule by taking community college courses at De Anza as well as classes at an independent school that met around two to three times a week. Although Yi had a set schedule, he was not at school everyday and usually finished his classes earlier than the average student did.

Yi’s curriculum included taking the SAT/SAT II, AP classes and AP tests as well. With the prospect of college looming, he decided to take advantage of joining the public school system once again to acquaint himself to this type of schooling in preparation for college. ”Going to public school was a very sudden decision, so there wasn’t any time to be excited or anxious. I just started attending Leland and that was that,” Yi said.

When the decision was made and Yi was set to attend the school, the sudden change and transition made it difficult for him to adjust in the early stages of his transfer. For Yi, one of the most foreign aspects of the school was the process of getting accustomed to the school’s approach to teaching.

Another factor that made it hard for Yi to move through this transition was losing the flexibility of his schedule. Before public schooling, he had a loose and comfortable agenda. Conforming to the distinct structured schedule made the transition slightly overwhelming for Yi and he felt as if he was constantly busy.

Like most teens, Yi found waking up early an irritating factor to acclimate to as well.

Since Yi did not join the school until recently, obtaining all the required graduation credits is another obstacle he is currently facing.

“My impression of Leland hasn’t changed much from my first day here. I miss sleeping in, and the classes aren’t quite what I’m used to, but all in all I’d say transferring to Leland was a worthwhile decision,” Yi said.