FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2004
Volume 47, Issue 10
Castro Valley, CA 94546
Drug dog search finds nothing Dance team dominates national competition
By Ben Topkins SPORTS EDITOR
A trained drug-sniffing dog and its trainer walked through the halls of CVHS searching for illegal substances on April 8, the last school day before spring break. The dog led administrators to search certain lockers, but it found no narcotics. “No suspensions have resulted from the two drug dog visits this year,” said Assistant Principal Peter Alvarez. “Iʼm pretty confident that the areas that they searched were drug and gun free.” Every year CVUSD hires Interquest Detection Canines, a private company, to bring a drug-sniffing dog through the hallways and parking lots of CVHS and Canyon and Creekside middle schools. This visit was the second of three planned this year. Each visit costs the district $320, which comes from a safety grant that can only be used to improve or insure campus safety, Alvarez said. The dogʼs trained nose can detect alcohol, all illegal drugs, gunpowder and some medications, said the dogʼs trainer Julia Ford. “No school is immune to drugs,” said Ford as she, the dog and Assistant Principal Jim Maxwell scoured the 300 hall boysʼ bathroom. Neither Ford nor Maxwell
SEARCH: Page 8
By Jordan Bailey STAFF WRITER
BEN TOPKINS / SPORTS EDITOR
Julia Ford guides drug-sniffing dog through 100 hall of CVHS during third period on April 8.
Staff plans to renovate and enlarge 800 hall By Yelena Teplitskaya STAFF WRITER Following the emerging pattern of renewed halls and areas around the school, the administration has decided to renovate the 800 hall. The house offices from the 300 hall, along with other administrative offices scattered about the school, are going to move to the reconstructed hall. “The idea is to enlarge and modernize the 800 hall and return [the 300 hall] to being only classrooms,” said Assistant Principal John Morrison. “[The administration] wants to move the entire operation into the 800 hall,” concurred Assistant Principal Peter Alvarez. The new hall will look very different because everything will be redone. “I think itʼs going to be a great thing for everybody once itʼs all said and done,” commented Secretary Kathy Duncan. “Weʼre looking forward to working all in one place. For as long as weʼve been secretaries, weʼve never worked together.” “I think itʼs going to be convenient for everyone,” said Secretary Jo Ann Sears. “The main office is going to be good because there
will be an outside door [leading to the visitorsʼ parking lot]. The only drawback I see is that weʼll all be here and itʼll take a while longer for everyone to get to the other side of the campus in case of an emergency.” Construction and remodeling are “supposed to start as soon as schoolʼs out,” explained Morrison. The renovation may even take until winter break of next year. Meanwhile, all the school officials will move temporarily to the 300 hall until construction is done. Principal Deborah Cocoʼs office will move to the detention room in 301 and the detention room will relocate to room 401. “Hopefully House 1 and 2 will be a little bit bigger because itʼs a little squished right now,” explained Secretary Daphne Hashimoto. Aside from a few minor concerns, though, everyone is optimistic about the new move. “Theyʼre going to make it as nice for us as possible,” said Duncan. “Weʼre getting hot water in the bathrooms, so thatʼll be a nice thing.” “The plan was to enlarge and renovate the building and weʼre finally doing that,” said Morrison. “And it needs it desperately.”
National championships are hard to come by, although the CVHS Varsity Dance Team managed to dance their way to the first place podium in the category of Dance/Pom. The team recently competed in the 2004 United Spirit Association High School Dance/ Drills competition in Anaheim, California. “I just wanted them to place. What we got was more than I could ever have asked for,” commented Rob Perry, coach of both JV and Varsity squads. Being only the second year Castro Valley has attended the competition, they did not expect much. Placing eleventh in last yearʼs competition, first place was quite a shock for the girls. “It was one of those things where you say youʼll never jump up and down and scream for, but thatʼs what we did,” recounted senior Cassie Nordgren. The squad won first place medals, a banner, a trophy and USA backpacks. “Most of the obstacles were getting the girls to work as a team, but most of the time they were right on,” commented Perry on this yearʼs squad. Both Varsity and JV
teams worked hard every school day this year, waking up early to attend practice at 7 a.m. “The dedication is awesome,” senior Kirsten Dutra said. Both JV and Varsity teams combined to place in seven out of the eight routines they participated in, making their presence felt by some of the Southern California dance powerhouses. Dutra and Nordgren were able to come away with third in the Championship Officers category. Dutra plans to major in dance next year, and Nordgren in musical theater. Senior Kim Stiving was also among the dancers at this yearʼs competition. “I was hoping weʼd get first place, but I just wanted to do my best and hope that everything went well,” Stiving said. “We had bonded so much as a team that we danced together well.” “There were no social conflicts this year to slow us down,” commented Nordgren on the reason this yearʼs team has been so successful. Nordgren added. “This yearʼs squad is only full of serious dancers. In years past weʼve had dancers who've only danced on the high school dance team. Now many girls dance both for Castro
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JSA students represent both sides in controversial gay marriage debate By Matt Rice STAFF WRITER
March 30, passions flared as five CVHS students debated the controversial topic of gay marriage. Alexandra Krasov, Amanda Gelender, Bennett Hall, Channing Cheng, and Javier Rodriguez-Martin participated in the lunchtime debate. The first two were on the “pro” side of the issue while the latter three represented the “con” side. Both sides represented themselves well, citing logical points for their opinion. “[There are] 1,138 federal benefits you get as a married couple that the gay [couples] donʼt get,” argued Gelender. “Marriage is a term for the church, not the government, a strong goal within our government is separation of church and state,” answered debator Hall from the con side. Both sides voiced their opinions strongly, using piercing voices and dramatic comparisons to highlight their side of the issue. They also used comedy to break the tension in the audience and gain some extra support.
AMRITA SABHARWAL / STAFF WRITER
Amanda Gelender delivers opinions to opponents Bennett Hall, Channing Cheng, and Javier Rodriguez-Martin. “Do you understand the words that are coming out of your mouth? Because I donʼt,” said Krasov, alluding to the hit movie Rush Hour. “Nice movie allusion, it works, gets your audience support,” responded Rodriguez-Martin in a sarcastic tone. Both sides cited very serious issues as well. “[Legalizing gay marriage] would make a lot of people mad, and without unity we cannot
move forward as a country,” said Cheng. However, Gelender was ready with a witty response, “Not everyone liked the civil rights movement in the ʻ60s, but it had to happen.” In the end, the bell signaling a return to the normality of the classroom silenced both groups, but not before one last comment was shoehorned in. “Nobody should get married, ever,” said Cheng.