Dec 20, 2007

VOLUME 51, ISSUE 4

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2007

CASTRO VALLEY, CA, 94546

Scandals rock the ASB Resendiz wins the ASB presidency

VP keeps job ASB President after streaking Northup resigns his position incident

By Malena Bell

By Andrew Huber

By Kyle Friedrich

The term “Madame President,” though often used in reference to Hillary Clinton, could very well be applied to senior Cristina Resendiz, Castro Valley High School’s new ASB president.

“It’s so crazy. I’m really excited and honored. At the end of the day I’m just really happy,” said Resendiz about winning the presidency.

Resendiz became president under unusual circumstances, attaining the position after the resignation of Travis Northup.

“I feel terrible about the way it happened and I still really respect Travis and I still regard him as a friend,” said Resendiz.

According to the ASB Constitution, if the president resigns, the House of Representatives has the power to choose the new president. The House of Representatives, composed of one student from each 5th and 6th period class, held a meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 28, in which it voted between five candidates, all from the leadership class.

It was a cold night to go out for a run, much less to go streaking.

At the last home football game on Friday, Nov. 9, Armando Enseñat, ASB vice president, and senior Joshua Yukichi Kawada ran naked across the field during the halftime show.

The school suspended both 17year-old seniors for five days, the boys said. In addition, Enseñat and Kawada said they face trial on indecent exposure charges.

“It was meant as a senior prank and there was no harm intended,” said Enseñat.

In the stands, watchers chattered away ecstatically as the two, wearing only shoes, jogged across the field during the senior cheerleaders’ performance.

“The streakers at the game made the halftime show. It was the highlight of my night,” said junior Dorothy Ko. Whether students saw the event first hand, found out about it over the Facebook storm during the weekend, heard about it

Much controversy surrounds the resignation of Travis Northup as ASB president, but the roots of his departure can be traced back to an incident at Monte Vista High in Cupertino, as well as to conflicts between Northup and other members of the leadership class.

On the night of Nov. 16, Northup and several other members of the CVHS Improv Club were in the Monte Vista High parking lot after an Improv show. Northup was backing up his car when four of his classmates jumped on the back of it, he said. Northup told them to get off, but before they could, the car hit a speed bump and four teens fell off the car. A school custodian who witnessed the event called the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.

Junior Dana Deras suffered a head injury and was hospitalized, and many of the others scraped themselves landing on the asphalt. Because the four were not yet 18, a deputy tick-

Editor-in-Chief

Staff Writer

Stephanie Lombardo / Photo Editor

Cristina Resendiz broadcasts the morning announcements over the PA system.

The four other candidates besides Resendiz were Melissa Hayes, Alex Iwanicki, Edward Loss, and Dena Odeh.

“I respect all of them and we’ve all been in leadership together. I

would have been happy if anyone won. I know I can trust all of them,” said Resendiz. “I was prepared to lose. I knew the odds were against me.”

RESENDIZ: Page 8

STREAKING: Page 8

Copy Editor

NORTHUP: Page 8

CVHS welcomes the new Rachel's Challenge

By Andrew Huber Staff Writer

When Rachel Joy Scott brought her own friends over to welcome a new student, despite the fact that the new girl was shy, she set an example for 40 million people she would never know.

On Nov. 14 and 15, students packed the gymnasium to see Rachel’s Challenge, a self-improvement program targeting students in a response triggered

by Columbine.

Rachel was the first person killed in the Columbine High School shooting tragedy on April 20, 1999. In her honor, her family and friends started the largest school assembly program in the United States, Rachel’s Challenge, to spread her beliefs.

After her death, those beliefs earned her the 2001 National Kindness Award.

“I think it was a great program. She truly lived a remarkable life and I hope it can impact the school like it did me,” said senior Jacob Whitener.

Speaker Erin Lackey, who is a close friend of the Scott Family, came to inform the school about Rachel’s views and to challenge the school to practice those ideals. She focused on four topics;

Stephanie Lombardo / Photo Editor

Senior Hannah intently listens to the Rachel's Challenge presentation while surrounded by her fellow classmates. eliminating prejudice by looking for the best in others, daring to dream through writing down goals in a journal, choosing positive influences since input determines output, and finally, doing those little acts of kindness as they might have huge results.

According to Lackey, Rachel’s words have probably been read by 40 million people.

“I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same.

People will never know how far

a little kindness can go,” wrote Rachel in her essay, My Ethics and My Codes of Life.

While they like the idea, many people were deterred from accepting Rachel’s message because the presentation highlighted Rachel’s slightly

prophetic thoughts predicting her early death and the fact that none of the other victims of Columbine were directly acknowledged.

“In the end I felt like they thought Rachel was superior to the rest of the victims,” said junior Brandon Azevedo.

Lackey spoke following a detailed PowerPoint that enumerated Rachel’s goals and events from her life, including scenes from Columbine. Videos included interviews of Rachel’s brother Craig Scott and various political and popular individuals, from presidents to movie stars, who knew Rachel or supported her ideals. In addition to advocating that the students should try to be good and caring human beings, Lackey’s final challenge was to tell the five most important people to you how you feel about them.

“It is a really great program, and it would really make an impact, if everyone gave it a chance,” said senior Kyle ShawPowell Although mixed feelings about the experience remain, the overall message of kindness rings clear: “[To get] people going out of their way to do kind things for each other,” said Assistant Principal Sue Goldman.

Malena's M

Minute

vantaged in the justice system that they are given the death penalty at a much higher rate than whites are. When there is such an obvious problem with the administration of capital punishment, it should not be allowed to continue.

People should be given the

Capital punishment is terminally wrong

By Malena Bell Editor-In-Chief

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind,” is a wellknown quote from Mahatma Gandhi. It is a quote that expresses Gandhi’s principle of nonviolence.

We have been raised since kindergarten by this theory.

If someone pulled your hair in second grade, you were not supposed to pull that person’s hair back. You were supposed to tell the teacher and the teacher would give that student a just punishment. Call me crazy, but one could compare this to the justice system. The victim does not take revenge on the criminal; the victim brings the issue to the justice system and the justice system determines the criminal’s fate.

Going back to second grade, would it be very reasonable if, as a punishment, the teacher pulled that student’s hair?

I don’t think so, but apparently the justice system does in the administration of capital punishment. Capital punishment demonstrates so well “an eye for an eye” that I can hardly believe it is in place in America. There are so many reasons capital punishment should not be used that I barely know where to begin.

Capital punishment is, firstly, irreversible. If a person is killed as a punishment for a crime and that person is later found to be innocent, which has happened in the past, there is no way to change what the system has done to the person. The person is dead and that is that. Incarcerated people can be released.

Dead people cannot.

Minorities are so disad-

Capital punishment demonstraits "an eye for an eye" so well that I can hardly believe it is in place in America. ”

“

chance to change and better themselves. If a criminal is put to death, society may feel that it has gotten revenge, but what good does that really do? Especially since most people are locked up for many years before they are executed, where they can, and do, change.

For example, take the case of Tookie Williams. After he was in prison, he changed and worked to help prevent gang violence.

Many people think he should not have been given lethal injection because he tried to help change his ways for the better.

He tried to help prevent people from ending up where he was.

People do make mistakes, some worse than others. People surround themselves with bad activities and get in bad situations. But nobody deserves to be murdered for those mistakes.

As death row inmate Eric King wrote, “I had surrounded myself with a bad group of so called friends who was not, only drug users and street people. But we all make mistakes and deserve another chance.”

LETTERS To the Editor The Olympian welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typed, about 200 words long, and delivered to room

113, Mr. Johanson’s mailbox or cvhsolympinan@gmail.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for spelling, grammer, and libel.

Stop the pointless censorship

By Kevin Hanley Opinion Editor

People playing Santa Claus in Sydney, Australia, have been encouraged not to use old Saint Nick’s traditional jolly laugh of “ho ho ho,” as it may be offensive to women, and have been urged to say “ha ha ha” instead. When I read about this I thought it was some kind of bad joke, but it’s true, and it’s a new low for pointless ridiculous censorship.

Everybody these days is so worried about offending people that they have to walk on eggshells all the time, always watching what t h e y s a y. To a certain extent this is good, as some things are genuinely offensive, but where do you draw the line? I can’t imagine anyone actually taking offense to a jolly fat guy’s laugh because it sounds like the slang for prostitute. I mean, what’s next, banning the use of the hoe in gardening because that word is derogatory to women? People need to relax and stop censoring everything just because they’re afraid of upsetting others.

Everything is censored to some degree or another in our lives. TV, music, movies, books, and even our speech are censored so as not to cause offense to somebody else.

Christmas has seen its fair share of censorship before this “ho ho ho” nonsense as well, such when Lowe’s hardware decided to call Christmas trees “family trees” in their 2007 catalog.

I understand that some people don’t celebrate Christmas or aren’t Christian and I think you can argue for things like banning the display of nativity scenes in places like malls, or saying “happy holidays” if you choose. But how do you justify renaming the

Christmas tree a “family tree?”

It doesn’t even make sense. Is it trying to make Christmas more inclusive so non-Christians can celebrate it? I’m not Christian, but I still celebrate Christmas for things like the unity, joy, and free stuff the holiday brings.

Censorship to avoid angering people goes beyond just speech or what you call things. Many people would like to regulate

what people do in the privacy of their own homes too. For example, people crusade against homosexuality because the idea of two people of the same gender having sex “offends them.”

People’s love lives are none of anybody else’s business, yet some still try to tell others they can’t do something just because they feel it is wrong. For god’s sake, this is America. Stop trying to censor things just because you find them unpleasant.

Even this newspaper is censored.

Even the mildest profanity is discouraged or disallowed, despite the fact that if you took a camera and filmed the conversations of students during lunch, that film would be unfit for broadcast television due to offensive language.

I just think it is ridiculous that we are so careful about offending people when it comes to mere words at The Olympian, when, as far as I can tell, at least a third of the student body has watched “2 girls 1 cup” in its entirety.

Bottom line, everybody’s going to be offended by something, but that doesn’t mean we should censor everything that may cause discomfort. When we’ve gotten to the point where we are censoring Santa’s jolly chortle, we have gone way too far.

Bad TV make people not think good

By Joseph Wan Staff Writer

Small things, everyday things, often have amazing powers of influence. For example, a cookie a day will supposedly generate an increase of weight while an apple a day will keep the doctor away.

The point? Television is a big, big influence, and most often not a good one.

Back in October, the San Francisco Chronicle web page featured an article titled “American kids, dumber than dirt,” by columnist Mark Morford. In his article, Morford described America’s “astonishing spread of lazy slackerhood.” and how the country’s problematic growth of national ignorance is caused by “the ugly and unavoidable truism about the lack of need among the government and the power elite in this nation to create a truly effective educational system, one that actually generates intelligent, thoughtful, articulate citizens.”

Now, I concede the fact that, yes, the public school system could be better, and that yes, the intelligence of today’s youth (no offense to all intelligent youths) is slowly dying out, and also

that, yes, the government is partly to blame, but I would also like to point out that a lesser, yet no less important evil is television and the endless onslaught of negative connotations it brings.

For example, in your average television series, you have various combinations of violence, insults, relationship break ups, and in some of the more extreme cases: sleeping around.

Translation: lying, stealing, impropriety, fickleness, and adultery are all things that are acceptable in life.

Oh, but woe to regular television watchers. What else is there to watch? Saturday cartoons? Soap operas which are even worse in some aspects?

An obvious answer is to watch news, but though it is certainly a better choice, it can be just as bad.

Death – resulting from accidents, “mistakes,” suicides, homicides, high school shootings, genocide and war. Celebrity scandals. Free criminals. Natural disasters. These are just a fragment of the many things the media soaks up like a sponge and sells to the people.

Unfortunately, these are exactly the things that people

want to watch. After all, who wants to hear about happy things when one can watch national figures being humiliated live?

Change the channel, right?

Now, one may ask, how does all this affect the youths of America? First, consider…

What is in fashion? What things are acceptable? Why are there differences? More importantly, why do these things matter so much in the social hierarchy?

Why should teenagers become the source of scandals, endless breakups, crime, curses, and cold-blooded murder?

To the first, ask the celebrities for the answer, to the second, ask the media for the answer and to the third, ask society for the answer, and to the last two, because the celebrities do the same, music encourages it, society assures there’s nothing wrong with it, and the media shows it all the time.

The overarching point: television is a poisonous snake that takes every ample opportunity to strike at the minds of the people.

Avoid television if you agree. If not, it’s still your life. In the end, if you must know what’s going on, there’s always the newspaper.

Don’t waste paper Rachel’s Challenge preaches kindness

Editorial:

We at The Olympian approve of the overall message of Rachel’s Challenge to be kind to others.

Speaker Erin Lackey shared her memories of her close friend Rachel, who was the first student shot at Columbine. This was an eye-opening experience to CVHS students.

The presentations, given on Nov. 14 and 15, helped students realize that a little bit of kindness can go a long way. Sharing the story of Rachel, a girl who wanted to make a difference in the world with her acts of kindness, helped students come to a realization that they should be more accepting to others and to

try to do things that others will appreciate.

Many Castro Valley High School students today are too wound up in their own lives to worry about what is going on around them. Some students, such as the two shooters in Columbine, feel rejected by their peers. Rachel believed that people should take time out of their busy schedules to try to reach out to those in need of a friend Although we The Olympian feel that the presentation had a mostly positive affect on the students, there are also ways that it could have been improved.

There is no doubt in our minds that Rachel was a sincere person

who wanted to help others, but we would have liked to hear more about the other 12 students and the teacher who were killed during the tragic event and who were most likely good people as well.

The fact that Rachel was the only one mentioned portrayed her as some sort of martyr. This is what led some of the students to misinterpret the presentation’s message of kindness into one of fame that put Rachel’s values on some sort of unreachable pedestal. The mention of Chuck Norris and other celebrities also made the students take the presentation less seriously.

We would have liked to hear

more about the two shooters and their reasoning as well. We believe that this would have helped the students understand more about the situation and what could have been done to prevent it from happening The Olympian recognizes that the assembly had a positive affect on the way students approach others in their day-to-day life and we believe that overall, the presentation was valuable. We also applaud the decision to have a Rachel’s Challenge Club formed that will help remind the students of Rachel’s inspirational story.

against this idea because it involves them having an extra class, but homeroom is just like a free period for them. Kids can do work for other classes which will result in better grades and less worrying about homework at home.

School days are already incredibly long, so why not take a few minutes off the school day to work for your other classes?

We could take five minutes off each class and make homeroom 30 minutes long. Students can choose to have homeroom as

their first class in the morning or as a class in the afternoon.

It may sound like tutorial, but kids would be required to go to the class unlike tutorial where many students used it as an extra break period. Tutorial was one of the reasons our schedules were shorter yesteryear since the 30 minutes from tutorial was added to the required number of minutes students were kept in class.

Even though many students did nothing, most of the students,

around 53 percent, used tutorial productively to do work for other classes or to take tests.

Adding homeroom would cut each class by five minutes and students would be forced to do something academic, unlike during tutorial. If we had a homeroom class, I would never have any late homework, nor would I ever be unprepared for a test later in the day. Homeroom would be beneficial to anyone who tried to improve academically.

School day is too loooooooooooooooooooong

By Frank Chao Staff Writer

Why must classes be so long and tedious? Imagine having an entirely new class where you could talk to other students about classes. Imagine homeroom, a class where you can do anything you want, as long as it’s academic. It could be a new class that would be useful, if you were willing to use it for academic purposes, where students would be put into classes determined by their academy and their year.

Some teachers may disagree

PHOTOpinions COMPILED BY Joseph Wan

What did you think about Rachel’s Challenge?

The Olympian is a publication of the Journalism Class, Castro Valley High School, 19400 Santa Maria Ave., Castro Valley, CA 94546.©2007 Editor-In-Chief...............................................................Malena Bell City Editor................................................................Michelle Matsui News Editor.............................................................Sophiana Carrell Opinion Editor..............................................................Kevin Hanley Feature Editor...............................................................Hayden Folks Sports Editor....................................................................Joseph Wan Copy Editors...............................................................Kyle Friedrich Laura Mitchell Becky Chao Photo Editor......................................................Stephanie Lombardo Systems Manager.........................................................Andrew Quan Business Managers.....................................................Candace Wong Esther Lee Staff Writers: Frank Chao, Ryan Flores, Andrew Huber, Irene Liang, Brandon Lui, Erin Mundy, Lindsay Oda, Taylor Pepsin, Eva Poon, Howard Whang, Tim Wong Advisor........................................................................Matt Johanson

“I thought it was sad, but interesting.”

Sophia Blum, sophomore

“I thought it was okay. I hope that it helps to inspire students to become better people.”

Michael Louie, senior

“I found it to be very thought provoking, inspiring, and a loving tribute to a victim of the tragedy.”

Teresa Marshment, teacher

“I think that it’s a good reason for people to start treating people nicely, but they should already be doing that.”

Sean Bliven, junior

By Michelle Matsui City Editor

With global warming becoming such a prominent concern in the world today, support for a cleaner environment is highly encouraged everywhere. Certain car companies are taking the initiative to experiment and create better, more fuel-efficient cars. Honda has even created the new FCX Clarity, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle that emits solely clean water vapor. Television corporations like NBC have contributed by “going green” for a week, having all of their programs endorsing recycling, being green, or saving the planet in one way or another.

But as high school students, these solutions seem so much bigger than us; who among us can really afford to buy a brand new, technologically advanced car on our budgets? Many students have a hard enough time just recycling their bottles and paper in the first place, especially now that there are no longer recycling bins around campus specifically for cans and bottles. However, don’t fret - there’s a simple, easy way for everyone to participate. All we need to do is to simply print on both sides of a piece of paper to end the neglect and waste of the perfectly good back side of the page.

Whenever students print out reports for school, countless pages of paper are used and huge stacks of reports are turned in, all with print on only the front side of the sheet. But what ever happens to the back side? Do teachers use it to make complimentary page annotations or critiques?

Usually not. So why can’t students use this clean side of paper to print out the rest of their work? It’s definitely an easy way to save both paper, and even staples in the long run. Not only would students be helping to save the environment, but they’d also be saving marginal amounts of money by conserving resources and using both sides of the paper productively.

In all honesty, it’s unmistakably simple and straightforward to use both sides of a page to their full advantage.

Is it that hard to simply print the odd pages first, reload them into the printer, and then print the even pages on the back? I’m not the most technologically savvy person, so if even I can easily work my printer to double-side print in seconds, then I’m pretty sure everyone else can too.

TOPS is truly the tops

Program aims to help freshmen succeed now and in the future

By Esther Lee

Business Manager John Green’s eyes light up as he starts talking about one of his passions, TOPS. TOPS stands for Transitional Opportunity Program for Success and is a supportive program dedicated to helping freshmen who have faced difficult life experiences.

The program consists of two classes.

There is a year long course called Study Skills, and a tougher than average CCG course. Usually, CCG students write one or two essays a semester, but TOPS students write four.

Recently, Green took his TOPS students on a field trip to the University of California, Santa Cruz.

He wanted to let his students know how important it is to think about their futures. He be-

lieves that not enough freshmen are thinking about college and that many cannot differentiate between it and high school.

“How much more liberating and fun to be in college,” reminisced Green. This field trip was also part of a broader plan to

They are able to progress and learn, not only in academics, but in life.

expose TOPS students to the stark reality of the world. Green has many more trips planned for his students. He hopes to visit Chabot College and San Francisco in the future.

In addition to taking fun trips to colleges, part of the joy of teaching TOPS students stems from watching struggling students succeed. Most of the kids are proud of their achievements.

“It’s helping me to study more. It tells you to what to do other than fighting,” said freshman Shelbie Campbell.

They are able to progress and learn, not only in academics, but in life. Green teaches them that education is more than just memorizing facts and figures. It is about having a positive outlook on life, focusing on possible careers and the future, while being healthy and happy.

“TOPS lets me address academic and social problems,” said Green, who is immensely proud of his students.

“I enjoy getting to know them as a people,” said Green. He also credits his students’ success to Jen Atkins and Jesse Woodward.

Atkins is a counselor who helps TOPS students and is responsible for group and individual therapy. Woodward has helped the TOPS students as well.

“It’s been a team effort,” said Green.

D-Wrek brought CVHS excitement

By Ryan Flores Staff Writer

Every Homecoming, CVHS recruits former students to judge the classes during the epitome of Homecoming celebrations, the assembly. This year, CVHS surprised everyone when they announced that one of the guest judges was alumnus Deric Battiste, more popularly known as DJ D-Wrek from MTV’s popular show Wild ‘N Out. “Castro Valley High is very dear to my heart,” said Battiste.

“I enjoyed my years here.”

Battiste started out rapping and dancing at local concerts in Castro Valley and Oakland, getting inspiration from M.C. Hammer. When he wasn’t practicing beat boxing or rapping, he was hanging out with friends such as Kel Mitchell from the old Nickelodeon show All That and Kenan and Kel. His friendship with Mitchell was beneficial to him in more ways than one. Battiste first met current co-worker and Wild ‘N Out creator Nick Cannon while at Mitchell’s house. Battiste and Cannon soon became friends,

beginning with trips to the mall and progressing to such a close relationship that Cannon soon became like a younger brother to Battiste.

Teachers from Battiste’s years at CVHS remember him fondly and others were really excited about his return to Castro Valley for Homecoming.

“Deric was really friendly to all of his classmates and helped to make class fun,” reminisced social studies teacher Jeffrey Goldstein. “Deric was really kind to me too. He knew it was my first year teaching and he encouraged me through bad days, telling me to keep my head up and that I was making a difference. Having a student like him was great for me.”

“I appreciate that he flew from Hollywood to come here at his own cost,” said Leadership advisor Carmelina Frasca. “He genuinely seemed excited to be here. He brought his own video camera and I thought it was endearing that he cared so much about the event.”

Battiste was excited to return to CVHS, advising the students, “keep doin’ your thing.”

Student art shown at Sun Gallery

By Lindsay Oda Staff Writer

Chosen CVHS Art 1-2 students had their papel picado (Spanish tissue paper cut-out art) presented in the Hayward Sun Gallery’s Columbarium Exhibit on Nov. 3 for El Día de los Muertos.

The exhibit featured about 15 students’ work on their idea of El Día de los Muertos. El Día de los Muertos is a Spanish holiday when people celebrate their ancestors. Traditionally people decorate for the holiday with papel picado.

The art was glowing with bright colors and intricate, detailed designs. The exhibit attracted many outside people that were intrigued by the reflective art.

“It’s an honor to be here and presented,” said sophomore Brittany England whose art, “The True Reflection of Life” included a girl and her skeleton reflection.

Senior Cynthia Ashton was

present at the exhibit looking at the art. When asked about her papel picado, she said “It’s called ‘Himawari.’ It means sunflower in Japanese. My grandma who died talked about sunflowers.

She said they look toward the sun. It means bright future or hope.”

“ The art was

glowing with bright colors and intricate, detailed designs.

”

Ashton’s picture displayed a skeleton holding a girls hand with sunflowers and Mt. Fuji in the background. “It’s a privilege that it’s put up because it shows someone I loved that passed away.”

Awesome anime artists

By Eva Poon Staff Writer

Stephanie Lombardo / Photo Ediyor

Eric Fonnesbeck and Maggie Francisco starred in Beauty and the Beast.

Beauty is no beast

By Tim Wong Staff writer

“The Beast thinks that Belle is amazing,” said Eric Fonnesbeck, who played the Beast in the high school’s rendition of Beauty and the Beast, about Maggie Francisco, who played Belle. Though he spoke the truth, it was not just Belle who was amazing, but the entire production.

This light-hearted comment was said in a jocular tone but with enough sincerity that one could tell that Fonnesbeck really felt this way. Such was the friendship that developed within the cast of Beauty and the Beast after spending a rigorous six weeks together training. The cast practiced almost everyday for the past six weeks to get their parts to the level they had at the performance.

It was obvious that everyone involved put a lot of hard work into perfecting this musical.

Even the actor who plays the Beast in the Broadway produc-

tion of Beauty and the Beast was brought in to aid Fonnesbeck with getting into his role.

The actors’ dedication paid off.

“I think it went really well… it all came together,” said Francisco. Their performances were convincing and even moving.

Every actor and actress on stage made me forget they were people I would see around school. Instead, I was entirely convinced that they were Mrs. Potts or Cogsworth or Lumiere.

Even those who didn’t have speaking roles exhibited great skill with each well-done dance number and song. The performances were so well done that it is hard to believe that those who were involved are students who go to our school and not professionals.

Although the performances were amazing, other aspects of the play were deserving of praise as well. The set design was vivid and lively. Between each scene the set was changed

and it really felt like you were moving from town to the forest to the enchanted castle. The instrumentals were also great.

They created the perfect mood in certain scenes and backed the actors’ and actresses’ songs.

Though the play was based on the classic Disney movie, it differed enough that it was still interesting. There were a number of songs added to the play, which will make even those who are familiar with the animated film want to pay attention. The songs were befitting of the play, so their addition was not a bad thing. It was also very enjoyable listening to the actors and actresses sing the well-known songs with considerable skill. Although many of the audience members undoubtedly have heard these songs numerous times, they still were very in to it.

Overall, Beauty and the Beast was on-point. It definitely deserved the standing ovation from the audience and the thunderous roar of applause.

your student events, and staying active! There is no limit to the fun we can have, and the memories we can create, here at Castro Valley High!

For further information on any events listed below, go to room 607 at break, lunch, or after school, or on the Student Activities web pages. I hope the school year has been well for you all, and look forward to seeing you at next year!

There will be no school on January 15, MLK Day.

Whether people have realized it or not, anime is everywhere.

Try to think of one person who has never heard of Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, or Pokemon. Members of CVHS’s Anime and Manga Club would probably respond with either delighted or horrific looks at the mention of those series. Then they would proceed to quickly explain there is more to anime and manga than doe-eyed supergirls and spiky-haired boys with specially powered cards.

“We’ve read enough to know what it looks like,” joked sophomore Jeff Choi, president of the club, when asked how much the club knows about manga and anime. “Why I like anime is like asking [what is] two plus two. It’s obvious.”

Manga, literally “whimsical pictures” in Japanese, refers to the printed version found in monthly magazines or as a book by volumes.

Anime is the film and television version.

“It’s a chance to look into Japanese culture and support friends,” commented junior Nathaniel Tseng, club vice-

president.

Around 30 students gather each week to discuss which anime or manga series they think is the best, to read the latest volume of Naruto, or just to hang out with friends. The atmosphere is friendly and talent can be seen clearly in the members’ artwork.

“We get to draw and express ourselves,” remarked freshman Alice Lin. Members of the club are working hard on one conjoined project.

The project is drawn in manga form and consists of three parts with one focusing on the history of anime.

Each member contributes to the project, either working on storyboard ideas, writing, or drawing. Tseng says that the projects are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The Anime and Manga club meets on Wednesdays in Room 204, advised by Jennifer Leighton. The members welcome anyone interested in manga or anime to join the club.

“Basically you can do whatever you want,” said freshman Eugenia Tan. “Here, you’re not the weird one.”

School events calendar

A piece of art created by the anime club.

To reach the Student Activities we page, go to CVHS’s website: http://www.cvhs.cv.k12.ca.us -Click on STUDENTS -Click on ACTIVITIES To reach the Student Activities Myspace, go to: http://www.myspace.com/ cvhspride

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There will be no school on February 15.

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F R E E C O N C E R T S AT LUNCH! Bands will be playing in the courtyard at lunch on Wednesdays.

For more information, or if you would like to audition to play yourself, please go to room 607.

All types of musical entertainment are encouraged. Must be appropriate.

THE DATE DANCE will be on Thursday, February 14, from 7: 30pm – 10:30pm.

PRESALE ONLY

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The approach of winter break this year will bring a handful of exhilarating student activities for you to look forward to! I hope you all enjoyed this year’s Winterball; A Night In The City, as well as participated in Adopt A Family, the Door Decorating Contest, and the annual Winter Assembly! We are also happy to announce that Cristina Resendiz has been elected our new ASB President, by our House of Representatives. I have noticed the large rate of participation so far this year, and encourage you all to keep having fun, enjoying

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By Michelle Gaston ASB Communications Officer

FINALS Tuesday, January 16 – Thursday, January 18

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Find out about these upcoming school activities

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Trojans massacre Monarchs

The Trojan defense seemed to create an unbreakable wall.

After only four minutes after the last goal, the Trojans scored anOn Tuesday, Dec. 4, the other impressive point, making girls Varsity soccer game was the game 3-0. The about to start as the two Trojan offense was teams, the Castro Valley unstoppable. With Trojans and the Mt. Eden another quick Monarchs, stared at each assault the score other. The game started changed to 4-0. and the Trojans crossed The Trojan girls the field in time. The were in perfect Trojans seemed to be sync and their an unstoppable force, score machine but the Monarch goalie seemed unstopdeflected three shots in pable, playing a row. with super human T h e Tr o j a n s k e p t ability. The Monthe Monarchs on the arch crowd, in a defense. Mt. Eden was desperate attempt lucky as several of the to raise their spirit Trojans’ shots went over and intimidate the the goal, but the Trojans Trojans, started to just seemed to be too c h e e r t h u n d e rstrong. The Monarchs ously. It was to no briefly broke the Trojans avail; the Trojans defense, but the Trojans would not be regained control of the intimidated. The field in no time. girls responded The Monarchs were to the Monarchs’ unable to sustain an cheers with anoffense of any kind. other point for Only ten minutes into the Trojans, which the game, the Trojans shamed the crowd scored their first goal to silence. and without letting the The Trojans won Monarchs recover from with a huge lead, the relentless attack, Howard Whang / Staff Writer putting the Monthey immediately scored another goal. The Tro- Marisa Schneider launches the ball over the heads archs in their place jans girl soccer team and proving that of the Monarchs. was kicking butt. there is nothing The Monarchs seemed to may be a bit cliché but it really stronger than Trojan might and be completely unable to stay described the way the Trojans teamwork with their giant win on the offense. A few feeble played. of 6-0 over the Monarchs.

By Hayden Folks Feature Editor

attempts were made, but they were quickly crushed by the Trojan might and teamwork.

“There is no I in team, ” said junior Nicole Peixoto. This line

Gardner proves victorious with the Berkeley All Blues Teacher takes break from successful season

By Taylor Pepsin Staff Writer

Rugby, a famous English sport, is regarded as the “father” of American football.

The main idea of the game is to score as many points as possible by carrying, passing, kicking and grounding a ball in the scoring zone, called the try zone. The game is played by 15 players, divided in two groups: “forwards” and “backs.” The number they wear determines what position they play.

From what people know about rugby, you would think that you need to be a big and muscular person, but one teacher shows us that you can do anything you put your mind to, no matter the size.

“I am one of the smaller players, but when I step onto the pitch I need to be confident that I am faster and stronger than the person playing across from me.

In rugby, if you doubt your own abilities or think about your potential weaknesses, you will get crushed,” said Elaine Gardner.

Science teacher Gardner has been playing rugby for the past six years.

In high school she participated in basketball and softball, but then wanted a more challenging sport. She attended UC Davis, where she started playing rugby.

“I wanted to get back into competitive sports, and I saw a sign on campus advertising rugby and I wanted to challenge myself to try something new,” said Gardner.

This year her team, the Berkeley All Blues, played the season with a 15-0 performance.

The Berkeley All Blues went to Florida on Nov. 9 for the National Championships between the final four teams, which also included Bean Town (from Boston), Twin City Amazons (from Minnesota), and New York.

The Berkeley All Blues won the 2007 women’s club national championship against Bean Town, defeating them with a score of 25-18.

“It has definitely been an exciting season, but I’m glad to have a bit of a break,” said Gardner.

Tr o j a n s C h a m p i o n s S p o t l i g h t

Candace Wong/ Business Manager

Sabrina Alvaro, freshman After playing soccer for both the Canyon Middle School team and a Union City traveling team, freshman Sabrina Alvaro felt motivated to continue her cherished sport at CVHS. She is currently playing the position of right defense for the CVHS junior varsity girls team.

Alvaro, who has played soccer for eight years, states that one of her most memorable moments in soccer is the time when her coach put her forward in a game and she headed in the soccer ball and scored.

Alvaro says that she would like to continue the sport in college, but she wants to focus more on her education for now. When asked if her family was supportive, Alvaro affirms, “Yeah, my dad is a freak!

They motivate me and keep me on track.”

Joshua Valladares, sophomore Not only is he committed, sophomore Joshua Valladares challenges himself every time he steps on the wrestling mat.

Valladares first started wrestling at the age of twelve at Canyon Middle School, where he became the eighth grade league champion.

Today, he continues to shine on the wrestling mat for CVHS. As a junior varsity player, Valladares explained that he is determined to work harder for a varsity spot, seeing that two seniors weigh the same as him, but are challenging to overcome.

Although the competition is high, Valladares loves the sport because of the amount of family support he has.

While Valladares is skeptical about continuing the sport in college, he said that as of now, it keeps him in shape and teaches him good work ethics.

Rashad Parker, junior As a junior, Rashad Parker is shooting guard for the CVHS varsity boys basketball team. He also already has incentives and motivation to play college basketball. For which school, he does not know yet, but he says it would be ideal to get a scholarship.

Parker enjoys basketball at an intense level because of the excited audience he has at all of his games.

Even when he loses a game, he feels good hearing the crowd roar in excitement.

His most memorable moment is probably the time played Bishop O’Dowd and, although CVHS lost, he was still pumped because of the great fan support he and his team had.

When asked if he had anything to say about the team, he shouted, “Shout out to the Trojan den, shawty!”

Jessica Fong, senior From the young age of seven, senior Jessica Fong has spent most of her childhood around a basketball.

She has played for so many basketball teams that she could only remember a fraction of them.

She currently plays on the CVHS varsity girls basketball team as the point guard.

Although Fong does not plan on playing the sport in college, she made clear that basketball is always a good sport to play for fun and it can relieve the stress of her everyday life.

Fong is always excited to play and loves when she makes the winning shot. Fong says that the reason she enjoys playing so much is because “each play is different from the last and there are a million ways to score.”

Runners capture NCS championships

By Howard Whang Staff Writer

The Trojans girls cross country team has been on a roll for the entire season, barreling down all of the competition in the way. The girls brought home first place at the NCS championships at Hayward High on Nov. 17 with a total of 52 points.

“At first I was really nervous going into the race, especially since we were going up against all these good teams,” said sophomore Pam MacLeod.

One of the good teams that MacLeod mentioned was College Park, who claimed first place at the NCS championships for the past two years.

This time around, College Park was forced to settle with second place, as Castro Valley beat them by 16 points. The last time Castro Valley came in first at NCS was in the 2004 season.

Sophomore Chelsea Schneider led the Castro Valley pack in this three mile race, finishing with a time of 18:46, followed by freshman Kelsey Santisteban at 18:47, and Pam MacLeod, who came in

third at 18:49.

Another extremely notable cross country runner this year is Jack Leng, who came in first in the boys NCS individuals championship race.

Finishing his three mile run in 15:04 gave him first place at the meet, with the second-fastest time ever in Division I, and the third-fastest CVHS time on the course.

Leng came in 14 seconds ahead of the previous second place time, but 16 seconds after the first place time set in 2004.

Coach Peter Brewer recognizes Leng’s potential, even referring to him as a “rare” runner.

“Jack Leng is the best male runner I’ve had in a long, long time,” he said.

Leng is the third person in CVHS history to win an NCS individual championship. The first time was way back in 1974, and the second time was in 1999.

The girls’ first place victory at the NCS meet brought them to the State Meet in Fresno where they competed with California’s best on Nov. 24, the team finished with 98:35, netting Castro Valley 16th place overall.

Stephanie Lombardo / Photo Editor

Victor Flores sweeps past his opponent in the Trojans-Farmers game.

Trojans butcher Farmers

By Kevin Hanley Opinion Editor

The Castro Valley Varsity boys soccer team won a decisive 3-1 victory over Hayward in a heated match on Dec. 7.

As soon as the game began, both teams were playing furiously. The ball was flying up and down the field like it was possesed by a demon.

After 20 intense minutes of furious compitition, David Landerson scored the first goal of the game, making the score 1-0 for the Trojans. However, the Farmers answered right back with a goal of their own, tying the score for the first half.

During the second half of the game, Castro Valley overpowered and totally annhilated Hayward with a goal by Arash Dehdai early on, and another goal by Victor

Flores in the last five minutes, clinching the 3-1 victory for the Trojans.

This was the varsity team’s fourth victory of the season.

The players were very pleased about their hard won win over Hayward, and the teamwork it had taken to achieve that victory. They also acknowledged that the Hayward team had been a worthy opponent.

“It was a good hard game,” said senior Ben Tripp. “Both teams played extremely well, we just had more scoring opportunities.”

“Everybody had a really great attitude and played their best,” said senior Won Ryu. Al Peacock, the team’s coach, was happy with the victory as well. “The game went really well,” Peacock said. “The team was well organized and worked really well together.”

RESENDIZ: From Page 1 But Resendiz proved herself a good candidate to the representatives.

“She seems very reliable, very kind and sweet,” said senior Katrina Han, a representative who voted for Resendiz.

Resendiz wants to try to recognize more students and their skills this year by having a concert by student performers at lunch every week. She wants to show how talented the musicians at our school are and give them a chance to perform for their classmates.

Resendiz also wants to give CVHS students more of a voice in student government.

“I want to make sure all the students feel like they’re represented and recognized and that it’s not just the leadership class making all the decisions.”

STREAKERS: From Page 1 at school, or any other fashion, they were amazed.

“I was in complete shock,” said Travis Northup, then the ASB president.

The school reacted swiftly; obviously offended, the administration registered a complaint with Deputy D. Velasco and the other security members, who arrested the streakers and escorted them to the SRO office. Enseñat and Kawada then waited until their parents came to pick them up. In California, those convicted of misdemeanor indecent exposure can be fined, jailed for up to a year and required to register as sex offenders, though such heavy punishment is very uncommon.

The incident also placed the vice president’s office in jeopardy.

After Enseñat met with Principal Pete Alvarez, the administration

New library nearly complete after costly renovation

By Irene Liang Staff Writer

The new library will be completed on Dec. 21, two years after Measure B was passed in 2005 and six months after construction on the library began.

The Castro Valley community passed measure B on Nov. 8, 2005 with a 62.8% approval, 7.8% more than the 55% approval needed to grant the bond. Measure B, a $44 million bond used for such things as seismic retrofitting, upgrading, and construction at the older schools, is said to be the largest bond passed for the Castro Valley Unified School District, compared to the two previous bonds passed in 1998 and 2002.

The updated features of the renovated library will include new carpet, furniture, and custom built accessories such as shelves. Moveable shelves will be provided for the bookroom to accommodate the loss of square footage of the facility.

Along with the new features, the interior configuration of the library has taken some drastic changes.

A reading center, which will offer students a secluded environment, will be where the computer lab used to be. The checkout counter will be moved to the corner where the career center was originally.

The career center and com-

puter lab, which will still offer 20 computers, have been moved to where the checkout counter was previously located. They have been relocated there so that they can be accessed outside the 800 hall. The bookroom is the only facility in the library that has not been relocated.

With the new configuration of the library, the library itself and the bookroom will be smaller due to the extra square footage of the career center and the addition of the reading center. Librarian Terri Bucklin estimates that there will be a third less shelving, which will call for the continuous weeding of books to accommodate the new ones, and less area for seating as well.

Renovations on the library, which are estimated to be at least a month ahead of schedule, started in June 2007 and are projected to be finished on Dec. 21 as opposed to the original completion date of April 2008.

Preparations to move into the new library began on Dec. 7.

The library will be accessible to students shortly thereafter the completion of the renovation. Assistant Principal Jason Whiteman predicts that it will be accessible in January or February.

When asked what she was looking forward to, Bucklin said, “I’m looking forward to unpacking the last box and having everything ready by second semester.”

decided to let the senior keep his position but restricted him from reading the morning announce-

“

It was the highlight of my night. ” DOROTHY KO Junior

ments and officially speaking at campus events, Enseñat said.

“We should keep it in perspective; it was a high school football game, it’s a common prank, their entire lives shouldn’t be ruined for one incident,” said senior Roheet Kakaday.

Whatever happens, the stadium certainly had an eventful first season. When asked for wise words about the incident, Enseñat said, “It wasn’t very wise to do in the first place.”

NORTHUP: From Page 1 eted the driver Northup, who is 18, for four seat belt violations, as well as for an auto “collision,” the senior said.

“It was a dumb mistake on their part, and a dumb mistake on my part to take my foot off the brake. They all admitted after that it was their fault,” Northup said.

The Cupertino Improv show was not an official event for the CVHS team, so the administration was unaware of the incident until members of the leadership class informed them, Northup said.

There were also previous conflicts between Northup and the leadership class, which he declined to discuss.

“In the few months that I held office in the leadership class, I made a terrible discovery. My goal as president was simple. I wanted change, positive change, that was all. I soon discovered

that this was completely unattainable,” Northup wrote in a resignation statement. “In short, I resigned as ASB President because I did not like what I had become president of. I stopped believing in my ability to change anything.”

Northup’s decision to resign was not entirely voluntary. He said the administration pressured him to give up his position.

“It wasn’t a complete choice to resign, but I don’t blame the administration for making the decision. Ms. (Sue) Goldman and Mr. (Pete) Alvarez were fighting for me,” Northup said of the school administrators.

Northup said he was much happier during his reign as president, but he felt his resignation was for the best.

“I’ll never be as happy as I was when things were working out. I just wish things had gone differently,” he said. “But I don’t regret my decision at all. I left with my pride.”

Open Mic night at CVHS a huge success

By Brandon Lui Staff Writer

Senior Ryden Ishida read a poem he had composed that was in many ways commemorating those who help him and those who inspire, and sometimes, confuse him.

This happens every so often- the first Monday of every month to be exact- at the Castro Valley library from 7:00 pm to 8: 00 pm. This open mic night is a place where people gather to perform any kind of art for the sake of expression, art itself, or just for fun.

Anyone who missed the last open mic night on Dec. 3 missed some interesting poems. The night began slowly, with very few people arriving. However a half dozen people filled the room after several minutes.

The first poem was read and composed by junior Alan Monovikia, which described a hilariously, and in some ways truthfully, complex relationship between men and women.

Despite some hesitation between people about participating, one by one people in the room began to share poems with the audience. One can glimpse a torrent of emotions in the room during the performances, many happy, some confusing, several funny, and many of which are surprisingly close to reality.

Ishida came up with the idea for this open mic night, as well as help organize some of the others. He has also performed in all them.

He explained that inspiration struck him two summers ago at a leadership camp and ever since then, he slowly made progress towards the open mic

night on the first Monday of this year’s October. Ever since October, Ishida has been trying to spread the word about the open mic nights.

“It’s not supposed to be my expression, it’s supposed to be about teen expression,” he said.

Ishida explained how he wished this open mic night was around earlier because it’s a good way to show off some of your art without judgment.

Ishida himself said that it doesn’t matter what you read, perform, sing, or play; “It could be the worst piece of poetry ever written for all I care, as long as you want to read it, it’s ok.”

All this talk about poetry doesn’t make the open mic

night a poetry slam; it’s open to all kind of things, including any instruments, comedy, improv, singing, or whatever else you can think of. Just ask Ishida or Nathan Salva, an employee of the library who helped make open mic night a reality. The open mic night is open to all who want to participate; the only thing that’s really barred from it though is a lot of profanity or racism.

The next open mic night is Jan. 7. If you want to perform something or watch the performances of others, check it out yourself.

Break out a pen and paper, tune your guitar, or even brush up on your stand up because you may be compelled to go to the next open mic night.

Please recycle your copy of The Olympian.

Keep our school clean!