April 20, 2009

VOLUME 52, ISSUE 9 MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2009

Pg. 4

DECA Variety Show a smash all around

Pg. 5

Dancers, drummers, singers

Yo! Dodge for your life

Bragging rights at stake

CASTRO VALLEY, CA 94546

Meet your future class and ASB leaders

Candidates talk about best qualities

Juniors race to take over top spot in ASB

By Alicia Harger Opinion Editor

Two very different candidates, running on two very different platforms, have captured the attention of CVHS as ASB presidential candidates.

Juniors Shelby Gerstenberger and Justen Meadows are the candidates for this prestigious position.

Gerstenberger ’s campaign is based on making a difference. She claims that she is the ideal candidate because she is organized, enthusiastic, and responsible. Gerstenberger promises to make a difference to us at CVHS. Meadows’ campaign is somewhat more lighthearted. “I can basically do anything” is Meadows’ slogan. He says that people should not be afraid of coming up and talking to him.

“Communication is important,” Meadows emphasized.

At the forum on April 6, both candidates had to answer several questions from the current ASB president Julia Joung. First was about what they love most about CVHS. Gerstenberger said the people and Meadows said Julia Joung.

Then came favorite activity.

Gerstenberger answered dodge-

Staff Writer

Howard Whang / Photo Editor

Juniors Shelby Gerstenberger and Justen Meadows compete to be next year's ASB president. ball while Meadows answered homecoming. The next question was whom they admired most.

Gerstenberger and Meadows agreed on Julia Joung. The final question was what they felt the most important part of being ASB president was.

“My job is to represent you,

DADA academy to be geared towards visual arts students

attraction of students towards graphic design and animation.

The purpose of the renaming was to establish DADA as a genuine and small cluster academy for

City Editor

testament of the success of our three years has been the incredible art our seniors are producing this year.

The Arts and Communications Academy is sculpting itself into a new academy called the Digital Arts and Design Academy. The academy will be directly geared towards visual arts students.

ACA was created three years ago by former video production teacher Ken Jacobson and art department chair Jo Sutton to get around 30 sophomores, with the majority of them enrolled in Art 1-2, clustered into social studies and English classes to be taught, respectively, by teachers Jason Marlis and Gabrielle Hedlund.

As the academy grew, visual arts was no longer the main focus. About 35 percent of ACA students were taking other classes, such as drama and journalism, for their eighth period elective.

DADA was renamed by Sutton in response to the growing success of the academy and to the

Changes coming to next year's schedule

By Tim Wong

to be the voice for you,” said Gerstenberger.

“Representing the student body” was Meadows’ answer.

The two also had to field questions from the audience. One question was how they plan to manage their busy lives with the time consuming responsibilities

Art Academy gets new facelift

By Irene Liang

Pg. 8

“ The greatest

”

Jason Marlis Social studies teacher

students with similar interests in visual arts, establishing DADA as a fine arts constitution.

To rename DADA was to eliminate the communications part of ACA to better interest those students interested in art

and cater to those who consider taking art as an elective through high school.

“The greatest testament of the success of our three years has been the incredible art our seniors are producing this year,” said DADA head chair Marlis.

Currently, students in classes with an ACA teacher are not clustered with other ACA teachers and the idea of keeping a small clustered academy is not held.

Although DADA seems different, the same teachers involved in ACA will continue to participate in DADA to help the academy mature into a small academy, directly aimed at students who wish to have an art curriculum.

In addition, students enrolled in DADA will be clustered in their core classes, which will be social studies and English and, if possible, will extend to math and science classes.

To Marlis, the same goal he had for ACA has not changed for DADA. When asked what he hopes DADA will offer to students, Marlis replied, “To give students, otherwise lost, a meaningful high school experience.”

of being ASB president.

“I’m really good at managing time,” said Gerstenberger. “I always find time to do everything.”

Meadows had a slightly different answer. “Responsibilities are very important to me. Leadership comes first.”

2009-2010 Draft Schedule for 10th-12th Grades Monday, Thursday and Friday Per. 0 7:00 - 7:57 Per. 1 8:03 - 9:03 Per. 2 9:09 - 10:15 Break 10:15 - 10:25 Per. 3 10:31 - 11:31 Lunch 11:31 - 12:06 Per. 4 12:12 - 1:12 Per. 5 1:18 - 2:18 Per. 6 2:24 - 3:24

CVHS will change from having eight periods to seven periods, and add an early "zero" period for select classes, according to the latest draft of next school year’s bell schedule sent to teachers by the administration, The most significant change is that, for students who choose to take a zero period, school will start at 7:00 a.m., fifteen minutes earlier than the current first period start time.

Zero period classes will also not have a block class. Instead, zero period classes will be held for the same length of time every day of the week.

Currently, CVHS offers a full spectrum of classes throughout the entire day. Under the proposed schedule, only a small number of classes, such as leadership, yearbook, and journalism, will be offered zero period.

Next year’s schedule is not a complete certainty. The proposed schedule requires extra funding to run zero period, but the school has not yet been guaranteed that funding. Without the extra funding, zero period may have to be cut from the schedule, forcing kids to choose between taking certain classes, such as between a foreign language and band.

If the school does receive the necessary funding, the schedule will follow the proposed draft, and it is not likely to undergo many more alterations. The proposed schedule was drafted by the leadership council, which includes Principal Pete Alvarez and Assistant Principal Jesse Woodward. “ We ’ r e r u n n i n g o u t o f time,”Woodward stressed.

Funding will depend on the May revision, when the state decides how funds will be allocated to the schools. This late decision creates a lot of scheduling problems due to the uncertainty of next year’s funding.

The administration has very little control over the situation. If it could keep the current schedule, it would. However, constraints such as limited funding and a required number of annual instructional minutes give the administration very little freedom in deciding what the schedule will be.

“This is not a Castro Valley fault, but entirely a state decision," Woodward said.

In defense of Republicans

By David Ahn Staff Writer

New schedule plan needs changes Editorial: Endless hours were spent by Castro Valley District employees in deciding the 2010 schedule. Brains were blown out and replaced like AA batteries. And yet, the schedule is still only close to final.

The way things appear right now, there will be a zero period, which will be the same length as other classes. Block schedule will remain on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, however zero period will not have a block class and will instead meet for the same amount of time every day of the week.

Although The Olympian supports having a zero period, because it will enable students to take an extra class that they oth-

erwise would not be able to take, we believe it should not meet every day of the week, and should instead have a block class like the other periods. Having a class every day of the week is difficult for students and increases their homework load.

Like all other California schools, we must have a certain number of minutes per day in order to get money from the state. When our school day was lengthened, it was because we did not have enough minutes.

However, this increased class length has been difficult for students and teachers alike to deal with. Next year, students with a zero period will be especially impacted.

For this reason, we at The

Olympian suggest that CVHS return tutorial to the schedule.

Tutorial is a period that students will have for a certain length of time once a week. It would likely be 30 to 45 minutes on a block day. With a tutorial, we would be able to meet the required minutes per day in the district while shortening the length of classes, which will help all students, especially those with a zero period. It would also help students academically, as they would have a period in which to work on homework and talk to teachers.

Although our school must make cuts to survive, we can take certain steps to help keep students happy with their classes and academically successful.

come together to decide how to run other countries? “The White Man’s Burden” is just an excuse to exercise power over less developed countries.

I can’t prove my words by saying that Vietnam did not ask for help from the U.S. Therefore it would be wrong of me to say that the U.S. was meddling. However, I can say that the brutal war started because the Soviet Union and the U.S. were competing to get as many countries under their political views as possible.

The war left a lot of regrettable and permanent damage.

For example, the army’s use of Agent Orange led to birth defects.

The land is also unfertile due to bombings. War itself is brutal and destructive, but in this case it was also inhuman, especially the attacks on villages that killed many innocent civilians.

There are horrendous pictures that show Vietnamese women, children, elders, and others running for their lives as they’re being burned. My grandfather had to suffer through years of imprisonment and the people in my dad’s family barely escaped the bloodshed, risking their lives to escape by sea.

America pulled back its troops after many years, realizing that too many lives had been lost,

including 58,000 Americans and some 2,000,000 Vietnamese. It was a civil war between the north and the south of Vietnam, for crying out loud. America didn’t have to be a part of it. If this is what America calls “help,” then I think Vietnam and other countries can live without it.

Today I’m reading old magazine articles where some politicians expressed that Vietnam needed help, which was the reason of the war.

But look at the facts. In present-day Vietnam, the people living in this “communist” country are happy.

Although it is still considered a third world country, its government is developing at an unbelievably fast pace. So what’s the harm in how the Vietnamese are running their country if the people living in the country are having good lives full of culture and traditions?

I think the lesson here is to mind your own business and to first figure out yourself before butting into other people’s lives.

My arguments may be debatable, but I think it’s time to look at things in a different way. I’m not pointing fingers at anybody because I am an American as well as Vietnamese, but that doesn’t make it okay to see “history repeat itself.”

I would like a little recognition of the damage America caused Vietnam.

War, what was it good for?

By Elizabeth Tran

Staff Writer April 30, 1975 was the official reunification date for Vietnam. In other words, it was the end of the Vietnam War. I am Vietnamese and find the attitudes that people hold toward Vietnam inaccurate and disappointing. Is it fair for my country to be recognized only as a violent place that needed help from the United States? Is it fair to see Vietnam as a communist country and therefore a horrible place?

Although it’s been several decades, it still upsets me to hear uninformed people saying that Vietnam cost Americans many lives.

Americans chose to be a part of that war. I thought we had all come to the agreement that both sides suffered and that Vietnam is not to blame for the loss of American lives, but I guess some people still look at this wonderful developing country with hatred. America cannot hold Vietnam responsible. Has the U.S. not learned its lesson? If it had, American troops would not be in Iraq right now.

From what I learned from my parents’ stories and from my personal interpretations of World Civilizations, I realized that the United Nations isn’t all that great after all. How can a group of leaders from “oh so great” nations

I have never been a big fan of Republicans , but recently I believe they are victim to an underserved amount of flack. The California budget crisis is a result of years of political incompetence, so blaming one party for the deadlock is hardly fair.

In fact, I agree with the Republicans’ stance of not raising taxes.

California’s tax system is highly antiquated, and to make California fiscally stable, we must push instead for broad tax reform.

The problem is that California’s tax system is highly reliant on the upper class. The top one percent of taxpayers in California contributed to more than 40 percent of the personal income tax in 2004, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Therefore simply increasing taxes on the rich, which Democrats support, would not solve the core issue of the problem, which is that California must fully utilize its large population base to secure a reliable source of revenue.

If you thought California’s income tax was bad, the truth is the state’s other taxes are equally inadequate, if not worse. The state’s sale tax is based on twentieth century figures designed for a manufacturing and retail economy.

California’s economy is primarily service based, so we should reform

the system to fit the realities of our time. Many purchases from billboards, amusement parks, and even wireless telecommunication carries should be subjected to the sales tax, just like other industries.

By expanding our narrow sales tax base, we can earn the state billions of dollars while at the same time lowering the average sales tax rate for the consumer.

Politicians must grow a backbone and actually fight to close various tax loopholes. In 2001, 3,662 profitable corporations in California paid no taxes by taking advantage of current California law according to California Tax Reform Association. Multinational corporations escape income taxes since California law permits them to report their place of business. Corporations based in California that sell assets out-of-state are able to take advantage of this “nowhere income” loophole. Corporations should pay their share to California. It is up to politicians to decrease the opportunities for sheltering.

California has enormous potential. It is ridiculous that the state responsible for around 13 percent of the United States’ GDP is in such a financial mess. It is the cumulative failures of all our politicians in Sacramento that has lead us to this fiscal crisis. So in defense of Republicans I say blame everyone because our collective inaction has screwed us all.

Malena’s Minute

Obama shows fiscal responsibility

By Malena Bell

Editor-in-Cheif Conservatives these days are speaking hypocritically. Ever since President Obama began supporting financial bailouts and economic stimulus packages in order to aid the fallen economy, conservatives have begun preaching “fiscal responsibility.”

I have never heard conservatives express these feelings while George W. Bush was president, even though the national debt increased by nearly $5 trillion during his two terms. That’s nearly half the current national debt. And what was this money spent on? A war. An unwinnable occupation. A project of destruction.

Compare that to what Obama is spending money on: a recovery plan for an economy that was beyond his control when it began its downward spiral. New jobs and infrastructure for America. Creation and regeneration, instead of destruction.

Through the bailouts and economic stimulus package, Obama

is doing what is required of him in order to maintain and regain American prosperity. Inaction in times of economic hardship is historically the wrong option.

The new government spending is necessary spending and Obama should not be criticized for it on principle. Certain aspects of the spending, such as how CEOs were still able to receive humongous bonuses, could certainly have been improved and are a valid topic for discussion.

Many conservatives, however, have criticized even the idea of a stimulus package. These people especially have no place criticizing necessary spending when their last president spent an unnecessary $5 trillion that Americans opposed.

Debt is generally not a positive. However, it is sometimes unavoidable, and this financial crisis is one of those times.

Unless we want a long-lasting depression, we should welcome Obama’s fiscal actions with open arms because he is being fiscally responsible.

DECA Variety Show up to billing

By Joseph Wan

Copy Editor

Cheering erupted from the audience as the curtains opened to reveal the first act of the night, the break dancing group The Next Step (Nick Choy, Ethan Jowe, Edwin Lau, Caleb Soon, Nick Tsang, and Phil Yoon). With an original routine, seamless teamwork, and a whole lot of fancy footwork, The Next Step set the vibrant mood for the rest of evening and ultimately won them first place in the talent contest.

The DECA Variety Show held at the school cafeteria on March 27 was completely planned and orchestrated by the high school DECA club. The show was entirely student run. Club members filled every position from decorations, stage and sound crew, to the hosts of the night.

“It’s great. I love the fact that Ms. [Romy] Shivers-Ademeyi let them run the show,” said social studies teacher Nick Whitaker, who judged the Survivor-themed talent contest along with P.E.

teacher John Edwards. He was impressed by the incredible diversity of talent among the night’s events.

There were many amazing acts that night. After the break dance routine from The Next Step, Chris Cooper sang a self-composed song while accompanying himself on the guitar. After Cooper’s fast strumming and catchy melody, the crazy DECA drummer, Ryan Long, began an impossible beat.

His drumming reverberated throughout the whole room. It was ear-splitting, in a good way. Kate Kim followed his act with singing and keyboard playing. She sang a medley of popular tunes that had some of the audience members singing along. Following the musical trend, Aaron Galaura, James Tran, Jared Bello, and Jyra Valenzuela performed as a quartet.

Valenzuela sang while Aaron supported with both the keyboard and his own voice, while Galaura accompanied on the guitar and Tran mimicked a whole percussion set with his beat-boxing skills.

Finally, the last two acts show-

cased the duo of dancers Eric Galvan and Sophiana Carrel, and the dance group, Our World.

Galvan and Carrel’s dance routine combined grace and comedy (flips, spins, and a toy guitar) while Our World gave a more stoic performance with sharp yet completely synchronized movements.

Whitaker and Edwards found it hard to judge the contest, mainly because of the difficulties in comparing individual performances to group performances. In the end, however, they gave first to The Next Step for their stage presence, originality, appeal, and clarity.

“They had really good cohesion,” said Whitaker. “Not just one person was good. All of them had talent.”

Yoon, a member of The Next Step, actually didn’t expect to win. He said they found out the show date late, so they weren’t as prepared as they wanted to be.

However, he expressed enthusiasm for next year’s contest where The Next Step will be back as defending champions.

A fact that produced some

laughs was the last minute nature of the performances. To the surprise of both judges and audience members, almost all the acts had been put together only a few days prior to the show.

The DECA Variety show has been going on presumably as long as the club has been around.

Even senior Julia Joung, the host coordinator of the program, didn’t know when it started.

“I’ve been involved all four years of high school,” she said.

To Joung, the variety show is an opportunity to showcase the school’s talent and to train the leadership and project planning skills of DECA members. Another part of her motivation comes from the nature of her club. DECA trips and competitions cost money that members can’t always pay. As an entrepreneurial club, it seems only natural that the club earned the money on their own.

Unfortunately, the evening did not end without trouble. There were some issues with the volume of the music and the amplifiers for the guitars slowed down the show,

but the hosts of the night, juniors Queenie Choi, Jimmy Quintanilla, and Chris Siegler kept the audience entertained while the stage crew battled the technical difficulties.

In between acts, the hosts brought volunteers up to the stage for miniature competitions. For example, senior Brandon Cheng and junior Jared Keys played “Name that Song,” except with a twist.

They had to spin around three times, stand on their right leg, and touch their nose with their opposite hand before they could answer.

After the show, Quintanilla said, “It was fun even though there were a couple of technical difficulties.”

“Everybody did a great job contributing,” Siegler said.

The DECA Variety Show comes around at about the same time every year. There are no forms needed to apply for the variety show. Performers audition during lunch three to four weeks prior to the show.

“Just bring your talent,” said Choi.

Music to our ears The Sound of Music will satisfy viewers

By Eva Poon News Editor

The stage will be alive with The Sound of Music from CVHS students next month at the Center for the Arts.

“It’s probably one of the most famous musicals in theater history,” noted co-director and drama teacher David Judson.

Judson said that the music and drama department, along with the administration, decided on The Sound of Music to honor conductor Cynthia Meyer’s career at CVHS. This will be her last performance as musical director for the school.

“We wanted to go out with a bang,” said Judson. “We’re going to have a unique opportunity to rehearse with the orchestra.

Meyer has been really gracious to us.”

The Sound of Music is about an exuberant nun, Maria, who leaves her convent to be a governess for stern Captain von Trapp’s seven children in preWWII Austria. She wins the family’s hearts with songs and dancing. The musical numbers will include “The Sound of Music,” “Do-Re-Mi,” and “I am 16, Going on 17.”

“It’s going to be a hit!” exclaimed senior Amanda Sylvia, who plays Maria. “Everyone should come see us.”

Among the cast are junior Ricky Garcia as Captain von

Trapp, junior Rachel Wagner as Liesel, senior Eric Fonnesbeck as Rolf, junior Brenon Adams as Max, and senior Erin Lassig as Baroness Elsa.

“

We wanted to go out with a bang.

David Judson

”

Co-director Judson noted the “synergistic” collaboration between the 100 people working on the show, including the technical theater class and actors from Castro Valley elementary and middle

schools, who play the younger von Trapp children.

The show features vocal direction by Pat Parr, a Castro Valley Arts Foundation member and choreography by professional dancer and actor Renee DeWeese.

“It should be a really good show,” commented senior Chet Wehe, carpenter on the stage crew. “There are a lot of the best people doing what they do best.”

Judson says he hopes “Everyone achieves their personal best and that we ultimately connect by giving them the tools to succeed at the high school [drama] level and beyond.”

The Sound of Music opens on Friday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. and plays for the first two weekends in May. People will have the opportunity to buy special $100 to $150 seats to support the CVHS drama and arts programs.

Sarah Gilchriese / Staff Writer English teacher Ian Rodriguez (right) listens to junior Corrina Johnson’s opinion on the budget crisis at the sit-in awareness event on Monday, April 6.

Twelve students stayed overnight in the Student Union.

Primos conquered the dodgeball world

By Lindsay Oda Business Manager

The crowd made noise in cheer and confusion as senior Dominic Shortridge of team Canyon Condors lost a ball thrown by senior Kevin Gee of team Uéh, ending the semi-final game in an ultimate underdog win.

This was a highlight from only the first day of lunchtime games in the week long dodgeball tournament. Twenty-four teams of six members each competed in five-minute games leading to Friday’s finals.

Teams got together and made creative names and attire like the Fluffy Boys who wore animal hats and the Moving Targets who featured red targets on team t-shirts.

“It was fun seeing my friends and teachers dressed up in weird costumes while throwing dodgeballs at each other,” said junior spectator Emmanuel Barrera.

The dodgeball finals started with a “Three, two, one, dodgeball!” from the crowd. The final

four teams were Road Runners, Primos, Skillz that Killz, and Big Boys.

Road Runners and Big Boys were eliminated first leaving Primos and Skillz that Killz to dodge it out in a best-of-three battle. Game one went to Primos and game two went to Skillz that Killz. In game three, Primos won with three players remaining on the court.

“It was a long road to victory, but we managed to make it,” commented senior player Tony Barrera of the Primos when asked about his team’s win.

The dodgeball tournament was an activity for all of CVHS. Spectators packed the gym every day during lunchtime to watch fellow students and staff members play.

“It was great to see people I wouldn’t expect to participate in school activities play in dodgeball, and overall most people had fun watching,” reflected sophomore Joon Joung who was coordinator of the dodgeball tournament.

Upcoming Leadership Events

Lindsay Oda / Business Manager

Junior Nick Zezza unleashes the ball with malicious intent for Team Dun.

Ladies’ Football (Powder Puff): The annual game will be held on Wednesday, May 13. Listen to announcements to find out how to sign up.

Seniors: If you have pictures from school functions from freshman year to the present, e-mail them to cvhs2009@gmail.com.

Senior class officers are putting

together a slideshow that will be displayed later this year. The deadline to submit pictures is April 24.

Senior Ball will be on Saturday, May 30, at the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco. Tickets will go on sale near the end of April. During the first week of sales the cost will be $38 per person or $76 per couple.

The price will go up each week, so take advantage of the discount and buy your ticket early. Make sure that when you go to the sales window, you have your completed behavior contract (available on the student activities web page) and the ID card of each CVHS student for whom you are buying tickets.

Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors: class and ASB officer elections will be held April 23-24 during lunch in the courtyard. Be sure to bring your ID card.

Senior a star in classes and on the field

Football, basketball and track among pursuits

long jump is an astounding 19’ 5”. In the triple jump, Woodard’s record is an almost inhuman 42’ 5”.

As a result of Woodard’s outstanding athletic achievements, he was recently awarded the Brian Ohleyer Memorial Award

“ My teammates

By Isabel Chi

Business Manager A sound like thunder can be heard as a blur speeds down the runway. What is this unidentified flying object? Is it a bird?

A plane? Is it Superman? No, but senior Jimmy Woodard is as close to Superman as most of us at CVHS will see. This runway is the jump runway on the track where Woodard has made and broken many records.

Woodard excels in football, basketball, and track. His athletic ability is astounding. Woodard is a star wide receiver on the football team and this year he made a 60-yard catch at the Homecoming game against Hayward, one of the many highlights of his season.

In the wintertime Woodard turns into an all-star basketball forward. During the Trojans’ game against Hayward, Woodard shut down Davion Berry, the best player in the league, on defense.

In the springtime, Woodard morphs into a lean, mean, jumping machine.

His personal record in the

are who make me a great athlete.

Jimmy Woodard Senior

”

by the Olympic Club. However Woodard accredits his success to his teammates.

“My teammates are who make me a great athlete. I wouldn’t be as good as I am without them,” he said.

Woodard is also a star in the classroom with an overall G.P.A. of 4.2.

“My mom and dad have supported me in all my studies, and they are the ones that inspired me to excel in my studies,” said Woodard.

Woodard plans to attend UC Berkeley this fall. He intends to major in pre-law and aspires to become a lawyer.

“Ten years from now I want to be working at a law firm. I want to start small and work my way up,” he said.

Senior Jason Corbett makes a splash through the water as he swims butterfly.

Lisa Carmack / Staff Writer

Corbett makes a splash on the swim team ByTrevin Smith Staff Writer

CVHS senior swimmer Jason Corbett has a deep love for swimming, the sport he calls home.

This aqua-man has been swimming for roughly eight years now and has loved every moment of it since the first time he hit the water.

Some of Corbett’s favorite styles are the breaststroke, butterfly, and the freestyle.

Other than amazing skills under his belt, Corbett is also the proud owner of two hard-core times of 1:57.9 in the individual medley and 1:45.6 in freestyle that instantly give him a reputation as one of his team’s best.

“I like the sense of accomplishment when I achieve in one of the most difficult sports,” said Corbett when asked about what drives him to perform at such a high level of intensity in his swimming.

To be able to perform at the rate he does is amazing.

He trains hard with eight two-hour practices a week with the EBAT (East Bay Bat Rays) swim team.

Over the past year he has received recruitment letters from an impressive list of colleges that include New York University and UC Santa Barbara, but for now this wave maker has his sights set on swimming for Ohlone Community College

before transferring to a four-year university.

His coach Brian Berry, along with Corbett’s family, are very proud of him and his many accomplishments in the sport of swimming.

“Mr. Berry is a coach who is very committed and dedicated to the high school team and keeping the team’s good reputation on,” replied Corbett about his coach.

When asked about his perception on CVHS swimming in general, Corbett responded without hesitation, “I like being good at a very unique and difficult sport, and the sense of accomplishment after consistent and hard workouts.”

S up e r S a v v y Sp o r ts St a rs

Lawrence Ham / Staff Writer

Victoria Liang, freshman

Stephen Shen, sophomore

Alan Zheng, junior

Alicia Ceniceros, senior

Victoria Liang is a freshman on our CVHS’ varsity badminton team, which is usually made up of juniors and seniors. She is very skilled in badminton and has only been playing since last year after her sister got her into badminton. Along with badminton, she was on track and field at Canyon Middle School. Her main priorities are maintaining her grades in school and th en sports, constantly staying busy juggling both sports and homework to maintain a 4.0 average. Outside of school and badminton, she enjoys listening to Korean Music and reading and watching anime and manga. She started off this season with five games and has been doing as best as she can.

Stephen Shen is a sophomore who plays junior varisty and varsity golf here at CVHS. Shen has been playing golf for six years and really enjoys it. His father was the one who influenced him into playing golf. Although practice isn’t the most exciting part of golf, Shen practices at least four times a week and has played in a total of seven games this season. In his spare time, he loves to play soccer for the Castro Valley Youth Soccer League in the under-16 age group.

While juggling soccer, golf, and schoolwork he maintains a 3.4 ��� average. Shen said that this season has been easier than the last because there hasn’t been much of a challenge this time around.

Junior Alan Zheng plays badminton for CVHS, moving up the ranks from junior varisty to playing both junior varsity and varsity matches. Zheng has been playing badminton for Castro Valley High for three years and will continue to play during his senior year. He has played seven to eight games this season and really enjoys it. It was Zheng’s friends who influenced him to join the team after starting badminton in middle school with them. The highlight of this season for him was when they came close to beating Mt. Eden, who has been the most challenging opponent for years. Zheng practices everyday on school days for three to four hours and sometimes plays with friends over the weekend.

Alicia Ceniceros is a senior who has been cheerleading for six years.

She has been cheering ever since seventh grade. Ceniceros started out cheering for the junior varsity team during her freshman year and moved up the ranks to varsity her sophomore year. She wanted to become a cheerleader because of the cheerleading performance she saw during an assembly in sixth grade.

During the peak of the season, Ceniceros practices three times a week for two to three hours.

During her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family and she likes art. In addition, she is enrolled in Leadership and really enjoys the class.

Ceniceros cheers at each basketball and football game throughout the school year.

Track runner runs to success

By Moises Fonseca Staff Writer

Freshman Samantha Fong is a frosh/soph runner for the CVHS track and field and CVHS cross country teams. She is completing her third year running in track and field. She has accomplished a lot during her first year at CVHS in both cross country and track and field, in which Fong competes in the 800 meters, one mile, and two miles.

“My best memory so far is completing the cross country season and winning my last cross country race,” said Fong. She placed first place in the HAAL championship for the frosh/soph division on the cross country team, her best accomplishment this year.

This freshman started to compete on the cross country team when

she was in seventh grade.

“I decided to run track, because I enjoyed my cross country season,” said Fong.

She is now planning to do at least one more year of cross country and track and field.

“I like track, because I get to hang out with my teammates and I also like the meets,” said Fong. Fong also said that she likes the feeling after a race because it makes her feel accomplished. However, Fong said that there are few things that she doesn’t like about track, like training hard.

Still, she said, “I plan to stay in shape and try harder,” in order to improve.

In her spare time Fong likes to hang out with her friends, to play video games, and likes to listen to music.

New athletics director for CVHS

By Sarah Gilchriese Staff Writer

Marie Gray has been the CVHS athletics director for 15 years. Gray will pass on the torch to Andy Popper next year, who will take over her job as athletics director.

Popper, who has been at

I am “ looking forward to my new position.

Andy Popper P.E. Teacher

”

Creekside Middle School for 13 years, is currently a P.E. teacher and the athletics director at Creekside. When he comes to CVHS, Popper will also be a

P.E. teacher.

Popper will teach three periods of P.E. and have two prep periods, a schedule that will help accommodate his role as athletics director.

“I’m looking forward to being able to teach five periods of P.E. and going home at 3:30,” said Gray, who also coaches varsity softball, her first love.

In Gray’s place as the athletics director, Popper’s work will include making the schedule for the sport teams, planning transportation for the teams, clearing and looking over locator forms, planning meetings, planning all of league and section business, hiring and letting go of coaches, making sure all the fields and practice area’s are okay, and being on the board of athletic boosters.

There are 53 sports teams to manage here on campus, which is a lot of work for just one athletics director. The budget cuts for next year will hurt sports and there will be plans to raise money for athletics.

“I am looking forward to my new position there,” said the

former football coach about becoming the new athletics director.

Popper said the easiest thing

“I’m looking

forward to being able to teach five periods of P.E. and going home.

Marie Gray P.E. Teacher

”

for him will be getting to know the students, because he knows many of them from Creekside. However, the hardest thing will be handling all of the schedules.

Vote for your future CVHS leaders on April 23-24 during lunch in the courtyard! Bring your ID card.

ASB candidates: President

Shelby Gerstenberger

Justen Meadows

Candace Foust

Joseph Ro

Yesenia Gutierrez

Jimmy Quintanilla

“I am very energetic, enthusiastic, and responsible. My goals for next year are to listen to what others have to say and to unify our school.”

Vice President

“I am a very spontaneous ‘fresh face.’ My main focus would be towards the school assemblies and I would bring excitement and thrill out of everyone.”

Secretary

“I have a passion to be ASB secretary. I have good communication skills and can write things down quickly but legibly.”

Treasurer

“I know the basic ins and outs and duties of being a class officer. Senior year is the year with the most activities and events, and I have a lot of ideas in store for the senior class of 2010.”

“I am a good candidate because I do have leadership experience. My commitments are my priority and to keep myself organized I will use my time management skills.”

“As the freshman class treasurer, I not only worked towards getting students involved in school activities but also kept track of our class finances. If you vote for me, all your wildest dreams will come true.”

Emmanuel Barrera

“I am responsible, smart, and an excellent public speaker. I will execute my job as well as I can and as faithfully as possible.”

Class of 2010 candidates: Melissa Luong

“I am the most qualified having the experience of two years in the Leadership class, one of which as the ASB treasurer.”

Lucas Heuer

School Board Representative

President

“I will represent the school as a whole and make sure my actions reflect every student.”

Vice President

Desmond Castain

“I work very well with others and get along with many people. Together with my life experiences and these qualities, I will be able to get all the jobs done if elected.”

Secretary

Ashley Sutedja

“I’m a quick learner and can handle things well.

I get along well with others and I want to help be more involved with the school.”

Eric Galvan

“I’m a very active student here. I feel very passionate about our school and I can represent all the different types of students as well.”

Treasurer

Brian Hayes

“I believe that I am a much more qualified candidate for this position because I have already been treasurer twice and know what the job entails.”

Nicole Yang

“I care about the school and want the money to be controlled and spent carefully, especially in hard times like now. I am skilled with numbers and am responsible with money.”

Class of 2011 candidates: President

Joon Joung

“I feel confident that I can lead the class of 2011 and give them a memorable high school experience. I will be able to manage my time because I pulled it off this year.”

Vice President

Secretary

Elenita Nicholas

Carolyn Baines

Nick Tsang

Isabel Chi

“I am a natural leader and I can handle this position better that anyone else.”

“I am very dedicated to things I’m interested in such as school activities and I’ve had leadership training in many non-school related groups.”

“I want to lead the junior class to win homecoming and be more spirited. I will listen to students’ ideas and suggestions and strive to help them be more involved in school activities.”

Vice President

Secretary

Hailey Jorgensen

Joseph Kang

Austin Bruckner

Jessica Woo

David Valladares

Jane Hong

“I am a good leader and I want to make sure we all have a great year. I just think it’s time for change.”

“I have a lot of experience, so I’ll know what I’m doing and won’t be totally new to the whole president job. My goal for next year is to keep up the fun our 2012 class put on last year.”

“I am a good speaker, strong listener, smart, organized, and above all devoted to my work. I love being a role model and I feel I am qualified to be a vice president.”

“Since I have been playing sports all my life, I know a lot about dedication. I will do everything to my full ability and I am one hundred percent dedicated to this.”

Jasmine Fong

“I am a hard worker and an organized person.

I really care about the students of CVHS and want everyone to have a positive high school experience.”

“I know how to work with people cooperatively while still getting my goals achieved. I would like to unify the class of 2011 and set an example to the whole school.”

Class of 2012 candidates: President

Treasurer

“I work well with others and am determined to have more activities for the sophomore class of 2012 than the class of 2011 had. I truly have the CVHS community’s best interests at heart.”

“I am hardworking and determined. I hope to do the best I can to serve the class of 2012 by being organized and taking acceptable minutes to be used for future reference.”

Treasurer

Kyle Linayao

“I’m really good with numbers and handling and dealing with money. Students should vote for me because I will be committed to my duty and won’t waste time.”