March 5, 2010

Be careful what you post

Pg. 2

Today’s posts could be tomorrow’s misery

More precautions for Days of Diversity

Pg. 4

Rue de la Full house Vie makes for hoops debut showdowns

Pops celebrates 15 years of music

Make that basket

Trojans fight Dragons in heated games

Facebook page creates controversy on campus

By Georgina Sousa

By Erin Mundy

Days of Diversity will return to CVHS next week and will include gay and lesbian speakers despite the controversy about such presentations last year.

To prevent a recurrence of last year ’s conflict, school officials are posting information about the speakers in the parents’ newsletter and on the school website.

“The biggest lesson we’ve learned is that we want to be more open with the community,” said leadership teacher Nick Whitaker.

“We have nothing to hide.”

Days of Diversity is a week to learn and open students’ minds about diversity, from religion to sexuality. Everything that makes this world diverse will be here.

Arlene Nehring, a reverend and a speaker at Days of Diversity last year, represented the LGBT community. Her presentation was on gay and lesbian issues. Parents concerned about the presentation demanded emails, her PowerPoint presentation and other information about the presentation, hiring lawyers to pursue the claim against the district. Eventually the two sides settled and the school district had to pay $4,800 in attorney fees.

“Post whatever you think is unique about CVHS,” suggests a small information box written by the unidentified creator of the Facebook page entitled “You Know You Went to Castro Valley High When...” The Facebook page was created just a few months ago, but already boasts over 2,000 “fans” and an ever increasing amount of posts, comments, and even photos.

The creation of “You Know You Went to CVHS When…..” resulted in the immediate in-pour of posts from current students, recent graduates, and alumni dating as far back as the 70s and 80s. Comments range from funny recollections of infamous senior pranks (like the placing of a car into the school swimming pool), to accusations of extremely inappropriate behavior on the part of both teachers and students.

These posts, including allegations that certain teachers are abusive, “pedophiles,” and drunk in class, have caught the eye of CVHS administration.

Because of some of the claims made, the administration has taken action to investigate the

Staff Writer

City Editor

It’s important to “view each other as

human beings and not labels.

Pete Alvarez Principal

”

Whitaker, who is in charge of organizing this event, as well as the administration, is trying to avoid another problem this year.

Teachers were encouraged to discuss the speakers with their classes to choose ones the students wanted to see. By taking this route parents will know what speakers are showing up and what they’ll be talking about. Having gay and lesbian speakers opens up perspectives and makes the environment safer said Principal Pete Alvarez.

“It’s important to view each other as human beings and not labels,” said Alvarez.

More than 50 speakers will attend, including a little more than half of the speakers from last year.

“We always want to improve, whether it’s Homecoming, Days of Diversity, or Every 15 Minutes,” said Whitaker.

Bianca Arias / Staff Writer

Junior Andrew Thompson breaks through enemy ranks for a shot at the basket in the game against Bishop O’Dowd.

Man tells his story across the country

By Georgina Sousa Staff Writer

He went through Rwandan roadblocks, passing soldiers with deadly weapons to take water, food, medicine and supplies to a group of orphans. As he helped the children he was helped in return.

Carl Wilkens is an American who has seen things that most cannot even imagine. He was in Africa in 1994 when the Rwandan genocide occurred. Now Wilkens and his wife, Teresa, are traveling across the country on bikes to schools to tell the tragic story. They started from their home in Spokane, WA in June 2009 and are going to end near Washington, D.C. in September 2010. This trip is about 4,600 miles long.

Wilkens and his family moved to Rwanda, Africa in 1990.

Four years later the Rwandan

genocide started but Wilkens wouldn’t budge. He stuck his ground and stayed to help.

Wilkens wouldn’t leave even though friends, his church, and even the United States government told him that he should evacuate the country. He was the only American that stayed.

“One thing I remember the most is the children’s bravery and charisma. Even though the genocide was happening they still laughed and sang and lived life like nothing was happening,” said Wilkens.

He told a story of how he had to wash some dishes while these children were around. The children helped him, but were shot at while they were washing the dishes. They would duck, and then the children would laugh about it and resume what they were doing. They were genu-

STORY: Page 8

Pg. 6

validity of several of the statements posted on the site. According to Assistant Principal Jesse Woodward, only posts made “slandering teachers and [claiming] illegal acts” are being reviewed.

So far a handful of current CVHS students have been sought out and spoken to by administrators, and although the school has not disclosed their names or their questionable content, officials determined that their claims were false, Woodward said. Had the posts been more serious and threatening in nature, legal action could indeed be taken, according to Woodward.

Despite the possible libel, the school does respect the students’ right to express their opinions.

“Kids are entitled to free speech,” said Woodward.

In a recent lawsuit in Florida, a student challenged the constitutionality of her high school principal’s decision to suspend her for the creation of a similar Facebook page. The principal’s motion to dismiss the case was denied because the judge recognized that the former student

FACEBOOK: Page 8

Students defend themselves from robber

By Max Kahane Staff Writer

A would-be robber tried to use an air-soft gun to steal from three CVHS students on Thursday Jan. 28. Sophomores Nick Harman, Tyler Jensen and Mitch Saxton fought back, tackled him, and held him for the police, said the boys.

The sophomores were hanging out by the Burger King on Castro Valley Boulevard when a teenage boy on a bike approached them.

According to Harman, the suspect said, “Hey breh, what’s in your wallet? Show me what you have in your wallets.”

The three boys responded that it was “none of his business,” but the suspect then told them he had a gun and that he would shoot them if they didn’t give him their wallets, Harman said.

At that point Saxton gave his wallet to the suspect, who then took out a Toys R Us gift card and

a Visa credit card. The thief then looked at Saxton’s CVHS ID card and said, “I’m gonna kill you if you snitch on me,” according to Harman.

He asked for the card number and went across the street to a gas station, and on the way repeated the same procedure on a nearby jogger, who had nothing on him, Harman said.

The three boys went up to the jogger and told him that the thief had just mugged them too, said Harman. The four people didn’t know what to do, but they knew that they needed to separate the thief from the gun.

As they were talking about the situation, the thief came back and said that the credit card number was wrong and that he wanted them to come with him.

“I felt scared and angry and mad and I just wanted to beat

ROBBER: Page 8

Busy work does not mean bad work

By Alexandra Gomes News Editor

By Nick Leonardo

Separation of school and Internet

Editorial: We at The Olympian believe that students should not be punished for the claims made on Facebook pages like “You Know You Went to Castro Valley High School When…” At the very least, if the administration decides to punish students for their claims, they should evaluate both student claims and the alleged actions of staff members.

The Facebook page has aroused many concerns regarding whether or not administration should get involved with some of the claims that are made on the page about various students and staff members.

The Facebook page was not initially meant for trash talking other students or teachers, but unfortu-

nately contributors have shown a lack of respect for the school, students and staff members.

Students don’t fancy the idea of the administration interfering with their lives outside of school. Many believe that they shouldn’t be punished for their opinions about staff members or for actions they didn’t get caught doing. To many, this would be an invasion of privacy.

On the other hand, students should be careful of what they are writing on the Facebook page, because libel is not protected under the First Amendment. At least three students were called to the office regarding their claims made on the Facebook page, and there is also a good chance that teachers may

read these invalid accusations.

In general, all claims made on online forums should be considered carefully because they may result in extreme consequences. It’s extremely rude to write mean things about other people, and it should be avoided at all times.

Whatever decision the administration decides to take concerning this issue, it needs to be fair.

Regardless of the different sides of this issue, we feel as if this page is extremely amusing to read, with the laughter ranging from the stupidity of some writers’ accusations to the things many have gotten away with.

how the world is full of suffering people far worse off than we are, stories usually involving people living in far away countries. A classic example is the phrase: “Think about the starving children in Africa.”

Unfortunately, the truth is that, for many of us, we’ve heard it so many times we don’t think about it anymore. Besides, the starving children are half the world away. How are we supposed to relate to their pain?

And even those people closer to home hold no presence in our minds, since it’s rare when they’re noticed and even rarer when they’re heard.

Reading the authentic and honest diary entries reminded me how ugly humans can get when we are intolerant of others. It also reminded me how fortunate we all are that Castro Valley does not have the same

degree of trouble with drugs, gang violence, and poverty that the Freedom Writers did in Long Beach, California.

As Days of Diversity is coming up, I think we should remind ourselves to be grateful for how much easier we have it in Castro Valley. We can walk down the boulevard, drive home in our own cars, or just go out for a late night stroll without the fear of getting shot. The hate at school isn’t so obvious that we can see it drawing blood on the courtyard; it’s definitely not the open gang warfare the Freedom Writers experienced at Wilson High.

And I am sure there is something each of us can do to break the barriers, reach out to others, and make the day just a little brighter for someone we don’t usually talk to, in the spirit of celebrating diversity, of course.

Grateful for living in diverse safety

By Joseph Wan Editor-in-Chief

Recently, I’ve discovered a book called The Freedom Writers’ Diary.

Well, recent to me at least, since I find that I’m usually three or four years behind pop culture in general. I was touched by this story of 150 kids from the “dredges of society” being empowered by a pen and a teacher who cared.

Now, we’ve all heard stories of

I hear people complain about how busy they are all the time and, to be perfectly honest, I do a lot of whining myself. I do, however, believe that being busy is not a particularly bad thing. In fact, I can truthfully say that having a lot on your plate can be, as odd as it sounds, beneficial.

Last year around this time, I made a lot of mistakes and got myself into big messes. I was struggling in my math class, barely scraping by with a C-, I got into a lot of trouble with a couple close friends of mine at the time, my grandmother was sick in the hospital, and I was having a lot of personal problems as well. To me, it was as if I had fallen into a dark hole with no way to escape, hopeless, scared, and very much alone.

But my luck changed when I saw the sign-ups for the pit orchestra for the next spring musical at the CFA: The Sound of Music. I signed up out of a whim, not really understanding what playing in the orchestra entitled at the time. For

the next few months, it cut into my personal time after school, twice a week, to rehearse with the other musicians or to practice the songs by myself. I was pressed for time to complete my homework most nights and to study for my looming AP exams, but every night I had with the other musicians was precious.

Over those three or so months I made new friends and grew closer to some of my older ones. My grades improved noticeably, and I was once more at ease in my life, something I had not felt in a very long time. Every rehearsal was like an eraser, making every bad thought in my head disappear and leaving me calm and at ease. It gave me time to think clearly and sort through my life, straighten it out and make it so much better.

Playing in the orchestra was truly something that made all my trouble disappear and, in this case, it was just the sort of busy work I needed to get my life back on track, as counterproductive as it may sound.

I’m not saying that everyone should pick up a flute and think all their problems will go away. It was doing something I loved that changed my life. So my advice to everyone who is having a hard time out there: take some time in your crazy life to have some fun. It may just be the best way you ever waste your time.

The Olympian is a publication of the journalism class at Castro Valley High School, 19400 Santa Maria Ave., Castro Valley, CA 94546. © 2010 Editors-In-Chief...............................................................Irene Liang Joseph Wan City Editors......................................................................Erin Mundy Alicia Harger News Editor...........................................................Alexandra Gomes Opinion Editor.............................................................Georgina Sousa Feature Editor............................................................Lawrence Ham Sports Editor.............................................................Moises Fonseca Arts and Entertainment Editor........................................Sarah Gilchriese Copy Editor.........................................................Brandon Lui Photo Editor..............................................................Howard Whang Business Managers......................................................Lindsay Oda Hillman Zheng Staff Writers: Bianca Arias, Wessam Aziz, Nic Barradas, Aditi Bhatia, Igor Breyman, Tiffany Choi, Amanda Chouinard, Kearny Combs, Joe DiRosa, Yoon Jung, Max Kahane, Simrit Kaur, Kate Kim, Melissa Lau, Nick Leonardo, Dana Lin, Jose Luna, Trevin Smith Advisor........................................................................Matt Johanson

PHOTOpinions By: Jose Luna

“Didn’t I see you in that Kung Fu movie?”

How should schools police Facebook?

By Lindsay Oda Business Manager

“The school shouldn’t do anything about it.”

Freshman Esteban Lopez

“The people are going to say what they want to say. The school can’t do anything about it.”

Sophomore Jacob Wessman

“The school should stay out of online stuff and mind their own business.”

Junior Desiree Sandoval

“You can’t stop the people from saying things on Facebook.”

Senior Holly Ross

LETTERS

To the Editor Justice should be available to all

Editor, In Joseph Wan’s column “The Other Dark Side of Prop. 8,” he wrote about the persecution of the supporters of Prop. 8. He cited incidents of supporters being harassed by opponents. As an opponent of Prop. 8 and part of one of the lucky few gay couples to have been married before our rights were taken away, I have experienced the hate and vitriol he describes, and more.

Volunteering on Election Day, I was harassed by police while my husband had to have police protection because of death threats from supporters.

And this hate didn’t always revolve around the election. I’ve experienced it my entire life and expect it to continue for the rest of my life. Gay people have been hated, harassed, and murdered since the dawn of human history, and it continues to this day.

Wan’s piece didn’t mention the hate lobbied at the gay community or the violence that has been directed towards us. Take 15-year-old Lawrence King, who was shot and killed in front of

his classmates in 2006. Why? Because he was gay. Or 19-yearold Jorge Mercado, who last year was decapitated, dismembered, and burned. Why? Because he was gay.

What makes a person hate a whole group of people, enough to commit murder? Prop. 8 has something to do with it. It sanctions second-class citizenship and fuels the ignorance and hate that leads to murder.

It makes us feel inferior, which is why 11-year-old Carl WalkerHoover hanged himself last year. He could no longer take the anti-gay bullying from his classmates.

The gay community has suffered long enough, and the discrimination, the bullying, the murders must end.

Why is marriage so important? While on vacation in Hawaii just after being legally married, I had to be taken to the emergency room in an ambulance.

As my husband tried to climb in to go with me, the paramedics refused to let him in. Only after he explained that we were legally married, did the paramedics understand and allow

In my 18 years of well-seasoned life, I have experienced my share of cultural differences, many relating to the fact that I am Asian. And that is to be expected. But I guess I shouldn’t be so critical of these differences. The media has accurately depicted Asians in the past ten years, and in a variety of ways at that.

There’s the “shy Asian,” the “angry little Asian man,” the “let’s-just-throw-an-Asian-inthere-so-we-can-have-all-races Asian,” or my favorite: the “half-Asian-because-societyisn’t-ready-to-see-a-full-Asianin-the-media Asian.” Not to mention the “martial artist Asian,” the “queer Asian,” and the “hot Asian girl” for those who have an Asian fetish.

Why do we even use words like Korean or Filipino when the

him to go with me. Can you imagine being forcefully kept from your loved one in a lifethreatening situation? That’s why the rights of marriage are so important to extend to all committed couples.

Because of Prop. 8, there are hundreds of LGBT students at CVHS, your classmates, who cannot marry in the future.

There are fellow students of yours whose parents are gay, but they are not legally protected the way your parents can be. All children should have the security of knowing their family is legally protected but Prop. 8 prevents that.

No one should be harassed for his or her views. Every American has the right to his or her own opinions. But I wanted you to know how I have suffered discrimination and hatred, not only from Prop. 8 supporters, but from strangers who do not know me. They put a label on me and choose not to get to know me as a human being who experiences joy and suffers pain, just as they do. They hate me and deny me rights and freedoms not for my opinions, but simply for who I am as a person. And no person should have to suffer that injustice.

Roger Mueller-Kim

media has already distinctly classified us into eight categories right there? And if an Asian doesn’t fit into one of the eight, then they obviously are not Asian according to the media’s trends.

Although I am frustrated with the inconsistencies of Asians in the media and Asians in real life, I am more concerned with how this cultural difference reflects in my life.

Society has seemingly collectively agreed to name me “that one Asian girl,” as if I’m a nameless, unimportant face. I never realized this until I went to Phoenix, Arizona for a journalism conference.

Phoenix doesn’t see many Asians and it was uncomfortably apparent everywhere I went. People looked at me a second longer.

Every time I spoke at a workshop they seemed surprised I had an opinion, or contemplated what I had said for that extra second. It was as if I was bald, or had a huge scar on my face and they expected me to be a quiet character because of it. They recognized a certain strangeness about me. And I was strange—I was Asian.

Suddenly I felt self-conscious about everything I did, as if my actions or words would somehow affect people’s perceptions of what every Asian is like. As I became more self-conscious, I slowly started to become that quiet, insignificant Asian girl and

take the role that media and society had placed on me from the beginning.

All my life I’ve been too critical of those who make me feel insignificant, deeming them ignorant in their judgments and ignorant of their ignorance.

But my experience in Phoenix changed me.

I try not to judge and hold these people fully accountable for what they believe; many are victim to the selective amount of Asians in media. Furthermore, I know I should never submissively take the role of the quiet Asian girl. Being friendly to these people and getting to know them will invariably help their prejudgments and mine.

From all of this, I have learned the importance of openmindedness. We all need to be open-minded. We should never be opposed to reconsidering the assertions we make about others.

And we all need to be conscious of how the media influences us, of how these influences affect our actions in real life, and that everyone is racist, sexist, homophobic, and sacrilegious in some way. We must evaluate what we believe, and understand that despite how tolerant we may think we are, our beliefs may need change.

“Flawed logic”

an attempt to stir up fear in people so that they will oppose gay marriage. He begins his column stating that he “will not address whether gay marriage is right or wrong.” By the end, it is clear his objective is more insidious: attributing gay marriage to a larger “gay agenda” meant to undermine American and Christian values in society.

Editor, Unfortunately, Editor-in Chief Joseph Wan uses flawed logic to portray Christians as victims of horrible discrimination in his column “The Other Dark Side of Prop 8” (The Olympian, Feb. 11, 2010).

Wan asserts that the SheppardByrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act will lead to a complete undermining of the First Amendment’s protections of speech and religion.

What’s going on here?

The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, no matter how unpopular the speech may be.

Being assaulted for expressing an opinion does make one a victim of a crime, and those hymn-singers who went into San Francisco’s predominantly gay Castro district to provoke its residents were victims of assault.

However, the logic leap Wan makes in an effort to convince us that opposing gay marriage will threaten freedom of speech and religion is groundless. If Wan and other opponents of gay marriage feel as if their God requires them to speak out, no law will stop them. The same holds true for the proponents of gay marriage.

What I see in Wan’s column is

Letters to the Editor

Jeffrey Goldstein

“Refrain from labeling”

Editor, Concerning Igor Breyman’s article, I believe that he was being considerably narrowminded. Visiting Colorado does not justify your claim that the “Bay Area is the greatest place on earth.” Colorado is a very small portion of the U.S. I would think that the rest of the country would be greatly offended if they knew they were called “square.” Some people outside California hate Californians for this very reason.

I would simply like to remind everyone to refrain from labeling people.

Matthew Barney

The Olympian encourages letters from our readers. Please note that letters must be signed. The newspaper reserves the right to edit letters for length, style and libel. They can be e-mailed to cvhsolympian@gmail.com, delivered to Mr. Johanson’s box in the office, or dropped off at our Olympian office in room 113.

Pursuit of career happiness

By Dana Lin Staff Writer

All sophomore English teachers at CVHS taught a career unit, a mandatory course required by the state of California. The idea of this unit is to get students exposed to different careers before applying for colleges as a senior.

“I think it’s a very good way to help guide me into my future,” said sophomore Cassandra Wong.

Counselors of all grades went into the many sophomore English classrooms and gave a presentation on the first day. The presentation talked about the difference between a career and a job, explained the different career myths, gave some statistics, and introduced the Regional Occupational Program (ROP).

ROP is program available to juniors and seniors. Students in the program go to school from 0-4 period, and then leave campus to get hands-on skills for a particular career.

Melanie Small gave students a tour of the Career Center to review various resources on the next block day. After the tour, students went into the computer lab to go “Career Cruising.” There, they took an online test asking questions about their skills and interests. The Web site then generates a list of a careers best su≠ited for the student based

upon the submitted answers.

“It’s pretty accurate,” said Wong. “I was thinking of my future job when I took the test, and it came out second on the list.”

“I thought it was very off track,” disagreed Nick Batista.

“It didn’t work.”

A project on the many careers available was assigned to students.

“It’s a research project,” said ASE teacher Theresa Branaugh.

“Some teachers use it to practice speech; some just have it be a research paper.”

The College and Career Fair on Feb. 17 gave all students a chance to speak to a variety of professionals from particular careers.

“There’s approximately 35 or 40 people there representing different career fields and about 20 to 25 different people representing different colleges,” said counselor Duane Magno.

Each career or college had a table set up in the auxiliary gym. Some booths gave out pamphlets and writing utensils.

“It’s pretty fun,” said sophomore Kelsey Donovan. “I get to see what jobs my friends are interested in.”

“The diversity aspect is very well developed,” said sophomore Ming Chan. “I’m glad I came.”

Howard Whang / Photo Editor

CVHS students sing and dance to “Hey Mickey” in this year’s pops concert, Rue de la Vie.

Harmony ‘pops’ out at audience

By Yoon Jung Staff Writer

CVHS vocalists successfully ended their show after three days of the 2010 Pops Concert, Rue de la Vie, which ran on Feb. 18, 19 and 20.

This year’s show was compiled from hits of past shows, and the collaborative effort of CVHS students’ musical talents and professional skills truly shone.

“The show went well for be-

History and English ‘switch-a-room’

By Melissa Lau Staff Writer

Since the beginning of last year, English teacher Clare LePell has wanted her students be able to be able read stories and books with knowledge of the history and backgrounds behind the settings of the books. So she decided to join up with history teacher Jeffrey Goldstein.

“I chose him for three reasons: one, he’s an extraordinary teacher; two, I have an interest in history; and three, I just enjoy working with him,” said LePell.

Approximately 60-65 counselorrecommended sophomores who do not belong in any academy have both LePell and Goldstein as teachers, with almost all of the same people in their history and English classes.

For instance, one teacher’s first period class could be the other’s third period class. Their sharing of classes resembled the idea of the academies on campus, such as DADA and HABIT, and their classes’ history and English novels correspond.

“I think it’s very great because when we’re reading books like All Quiet on the Western Front. They get to learn the historical background,” said LePell.

Originally, the program was supposed to be for juniors, not sophomores. Goldstein, however, is a teacher for sophomores and

saw the potential of joining World History and Sophomore English.

During his years of teaching, he noticed that he would teach something completely different than what the English teacher for his students taught. He would be teaching French Revolution while his students were

“I chose him for

three reasons: one, he’s an extraordinary teacher; two, I have an interest in history; and three, I just enjoy working with him.

Clare LePell

”

English Teacher reading books like All Quiet on the Western Front or Julius Caesar.

“Some kids had read the literature related to what we were studying and some were going to read the same literature in six months. It was like watching a movie with the sync off,” said Goldstein.

Due to shortage of books on campus, different classes are distributed certain novels at

different times of the year, resulting in students reading All Quiet on the Western Front long after or before teachers taught World War I. “Mr. [Pete] Alvarez assured us that he could get enough books for our students if Ms. LePell and I were willing to plan our lessons together,” said Goldstein.

Highlights for students in LePell and Goldstein’s joint effort include having fewer assigned projects, homework, or tests on the same day or assigned essays about relatively the same idea.

They know their students better because they both observe their students carefully, and seek to help out their students in any way possible.

“There is more support for students, I think, from teachers who can more easily follow their progress and development,” said Goldstein.

Many students this year have been enjoying having their English and history teacher work together so far, and would like the “cross curricular” method to continue.

“Having two teachers that are working together is great because they never have a test on the same day. The homework corresponds and I feel that I am learning more that way because I get the subject twice,” said sophomore Pamela Crosby.

ing nervous. We did an amazing job but there is always room to do better. The entire cast was great,” said junior Yesenia Rogers, who played the main character Amy. In Rue de la Vie, Amy is forced to make a difficult decision before her wedding when she runs into an ex-boyfriend of hers. The bride goes from a nightmare of a thriller to the wedding rehearsal dramatically.

In between, all kinds of terrific performances brought the story to life until the end of the story, where Amy left her fiancé.

“They brought it together strongly. ‘Hide and Seek’ was a really good choice of song. I could feel their positive energy,” said CVHS graduate Moriah Bishop, who participated two years ago.

The show is just [more] accommodating and well organized than past years. It seems like the whole generation of choir changed. It was good to see lots of freshmen and new seniors participating this year, said senior Brenon Adams, who played Paul, Amy’s fiancé. It is the best Pops.

“The dancing went well. I am

so proud of it. My favorite part was the tango with intensive lighting. It was epic,” said senior Amber Normann who planned the choreography for Pops along with senior Megan Sullivan.

Susan Susoeff, the director of the Pops Concert, has been preparing for the show since October, holding auditions and rehearsing day and night.

Tickets sold quickly with online sales. The student writing team stood out this year, combining all previous Pops concerts’ highlights over the past 15 years.

“CVHS choir kids are talented. We all enjoyed the show together with good compliments from audiences. I am very happy with it, [and] we had the chance to get together as a group. This year’s Pops Concert was the bestv ever,” said Susoeff.

After the show, students expressed amazement at their friends’ hidden harmony, various talents, and ability to put on a great show.

Entertainment Calendar

Viewers fall in love with Dear John

By Tiffany Choi Staff Writer

“Two weeks together, that’s all it took; two weeks for me to fall for you.”

I had very high expectations for Dear John after reading the book and watching the trailer. I was, however, not completely satisfied with the movie.

John Tyree (Channing Tatum) is on a two-week leave from the army. During his break, he meets and falls for Savannah Lynn Curtis (Amanda Seyfried). They fall deeply in love with each other, but must suffer being apart when John returns to duty.

They keep in touch however they can, mainly through writing letters to each other, but as most people know, long-distance relationships are difficult and their love takes a toll when John re-enlists into the army.

The movie is based on the novel written by Nicholas Sparks, the author of many romance novels turned into films, such as The Notebook and A Walk to Remember.

When the movie began I was extremely excited and happy, but in the middle I realized it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. I ended up loving and disliking the movie.

It was very different from the book’s original plot. There were many more scenes about John in the army or John with his father than those with John and Savannah, which was what I wanted to see the most. But I was happy when I saw John and Savannah together; it made my heart melt to see the two together.

I can’t help but want to find someone like John or become more like Savannah. Together they seem like a perfect couple.

But the way this story ends is the complete and total opposite of what you could ever imagine with a letter that changed everything.

Some scenes were not very convincing, whether it was because of the acting or possibly how it started raining on a sunny day to make for the perfect kissing scene.

Though I did not bawl my eyes out during the movie like I thought I would, my eyes did

“I

can’t help but fall in love with this movie and want to watch it again right now.

MusicMar. 9: Gorillaz: Plastic Beach Mar. 9: Ludacris: Battle of the Sexes Mar. 16: The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights (Live) Mar. 23: Justin Bieber: My World Part 2 MoviesMar. 5: Alice in Wonderland Mar. 12: Remember Me Mar. 19: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Video GamesMar. 9: Final Fantasy XIII (X360, PS3), $59.99 Mar. 16: Assassin’s Creed (PC), $49.99 Mar. 23: Just Cause 2 (PC, PS3, X360), $49.99-$59.99 BooksMar. 9: Willowood – Cecilia Galante, $16.99 ConcertsMar. 7: Killswitch Engage, The Warfield, $27 Mar. 13: New Found Glory, Regency Ballroom, $20 Mar. 24: Jay-Z, HP Pavillion, $42.50-$126.50 Mar. 24: Metric, Fox Theater, $25

Visit D rivers Ed.c during om and ent er the on line p discount* c ayme nt pro ode CAHS3 cess.

”

water in some scenes.

All in all, I’m a sucker for romance movies like this, so I can’t help but fall in love with this movie and want to watch it again right now. But in my opinion I did feel that the book was much better than the movie. I could feel a much better connection between John and Savannah in the book than in the movie.

Online Drivers Ed

• Fun, flexible lessons so you pass your permit test • California DMV-approved • 50 free online permit practice tests

Driving Lessons in Your Area

• Practice driving in brand-new MINI Coopers!

• Free driving-lesson pick-up and drop-off • Licensed instructors teach you to drive Questions? Call us at 1-888-651-AUTO.

Want a fast, easy way to fundraise for your class? Earn a 25% commission and save your friends 15% off drivers ed. Visit www.DriversEd.com/Associate-Programs. *Discount for online drivers ed class only.

H_BW_6x8_F3 © 2009 DriversEd.com

Dragons scorch Trojans’ hoops hopes Bishop cools off hot boys team, again

By Moises Fonseca Sports Editor

It was a cold night on Feb. 19, when the Dragons played the Trojans at CVHS. The Trojans and the Dragons gave an intense battle, but at the end, the Dragons beat the Trojans 71-58.

With a big crowd, a completely sold out game, and big expectations coming from both teams, the CVHS’ crowd booed the Dragons and cheered when the Trojan team entered the gym.

After that, when the announcer introduced the Dragons team, the students turned their backs and didn’t bother to clap. But when the Trojans appeared, the CVHS crowd immediately cheered with huge excitement.

The game started slow for CVHS during the first quarter. However, they were able to score some points towards the end of the quarter, and by that time, the Trojans were losing by six points, 19-13. The second quarter was pretty similar to the first, in which the Trojans started slow, but scored a few more points towards the end.

During the halftime, the dance team and cheerleading squad showed some of their moves to impress the CVHS and O’Dowd fans. But the crowds were still talking trash to each other.

CVHS was trailing behind by 12 points, with a score of 36-24.

During the third quarter, CVHS made some incredible moves that shocked the Dragons, but it still wasn’t good enough to gain the lead.

The Trojans were now behind by eight points, making the score 50-42.

The fourth quarter started with high hopes for the Trojans and big worries for the O’Dowd team.

The Trojans were trying as hard as they could to catch up and tie the game and go into overtime. On the other hand, O’Dowd was scoring at the same rate as the Trojans were. Feeling desperate, the CVHS squad was fouling constantly during the last three minutes to get the ball back.

The Trojans’ play didn’t work as well as they had hoped for, and now they had a bigger gap than the one they had started with. All of the hopes CVHS had

to win were gone with only one minute to go.

The game ended with O’Dowd winning and the Trojans losing 71-58.

“I feel that we all played hard, but came short. We had an off night,” said junior Greg Ah-Tye. Castro Valley’s biggest obstacles while playing the Dragons were the three-pointers. Castro Valley only made three threepointers, while O’Dowd made seven three-pointers.

Castro Valley’s record fell to 14-2. Both losses were against Bishop O’Dowd. Junior Roderick Bobbit made 23 points during the game.

O’Dowd routs girls squad

By Aditi Bhatia Staff Writer

The CVHS girls varsity basketball team battled Bishop O’Dowd Friday night on Feb. 19. The game ended with major disappointments from the crowd with the Dragons scoring 81 points and the Trojans scoring 34.

There was a huge audience attending the game, with tickets sold out hours before the game started. Although there was some rivalry between the crowds, they were still fairly respectful to each other. There was a lot of competition between the teams because during the HAAL Champion-

ships, Bishop O’Dowd was undefeated with a score of 16-0, while CVHS had won with a score of 12-4.

The Dragons mostly dominated the game, especially during the first half when they scored the majority of the points. The CVHS girls tried their hardest to score as many times as they could, with junior Elena Ala scoring 12 points for the team. Nevertheless, the first half ended with the Dragons in the lead with a score of 48-19.

During the second half, the Dragons were still dominating the Trojans. The crowd, however, was upset when the referee called a foul, which favored the Dragons. Everyone, except the O’Dowd students, was booing the coach for a period of time. Even so, the referee still decided to keep the call.

“We needed to keep focus and start off better,” said junior Brianna Miller. “We had a slow start, but we came back up to speed later on.”

The game was over before the fourth quarter even started, with the Dragons in the lead with a score of 61-32. During the fourth quarter, the Dragons made the Trojans’ deficit larger than the points that had been scored during the previous three quarters, ending the game with a score of 81-34.

“We just need to play as a team and never give up,” said sophomore Michelle Miyamoto.

Bianca Arias / Staff Writer

The Trojan Den salutes the Trojan boys before the game against the Dragons.

Wrestling team shows off its skills at league finals

By Lawrence Ham Feature Editor

Football is perceived as a rough sport, but wrestling isn’t easy either. On Feb. 20, Hayward High hosted the wrestling HAAL finals in which Castro Valley took first place for the seventh year in a row with a score of 243 points. San Leandro finished second with 197.

“Overall, the competition was okay. CVHS could have done better at league but we still came out on top so I’m still happy,” said senior Christian Gascon.

Two matches went on simultaneously in the Hayward gym while other wrestlers warmed up on the sidelines waiting for their weight group to be called.

As the wrestlers wrestled, at least one of the coaches was encouraging them from the sidelines along with their supportive friends and family members cheering from the stands.

“I felt really good about my first match, and my second match I should have won but I didn’t

wrestle my best,” said senior Josh Valladares.

Valladares wrestled in both the 189 and 215 weight groups, winning his first match but losing his final match. He has been wrestling for seven years and loves it.

“I enjoy the one-on-one aspect. It’s only me out there and I can’t depend on anyone else but myself,” said Valladares.

“We train for two hours, five days a week to prepare for our tournaments,” said head coach Josh Wheeler, who has been coaching wrestling for seven years.

The Trojans have participated in many other wrestling competitions in places like Reno and Gilroy.

Sophomore Nasir Nasir also wrestled a very good match.

“I feel pretty good about my final match. I mean he put up a full six minutes, but I ended up winning 17-7,” said Nasir.

Nasir has been wrestling since sixth grade and enjoys the feel-

Lawrence Ham /Feature Editor

Senior Christian Gascon wins the match in his weight bracket at Hayward High. ing of putting his foot on the line. He feels confident that he is in control of the match.

“This was my first year wrestling varsity and I wasn’t ex-

pecting much, but I still went out there and wrestled my heart out. I may not have won as many matches as I wanted but, I think I did well for a sophomore on var-

sity,” added Nasir.

“The competition went pretty good and we still have two more tournaments left in the season,” said Wheeler.

Trojans’ soccer season ends with playoff thrills Amador Valley hands boys early NCS loss

By Igor Breyman Staff Writer

Despite a tough loss ending their season, the CVHS boys varsity soccer team had a particularly successful year, though filled with many ups and downs. Wednesday Feb. 17 marked the final game of the season for the team. Amador Valley High School beat the Trojans 2-0 in the first round of the NCS playoffs.

“Most of our team was serious, and that was our largest game on that field,” said senior Ian Silverness.

From the eyes of a fan sitting in the bleachers, the game was not a loss at all. From entertaining kicks hitting teammates’ heads to questionable referee penalty kick calls, this game had it all. The players were thrown into the game and were told to play, showing their true talents.

For the most part, the Trojans played better than Amador, until Amador stole their momentum.

Prior to this game, the team began their season triumphing over other teams. Their first loss, against Richmond, dented the team morale, leaving players frustrated.

By Nic Barradas

The team continued to dominate until players Connor Thorton, Nick Lord, and Andrew Wong sustained long-term injuries, leaving younger players to fill in for the remainder of the season.

It wasn’t until a loss to Bishop O’ Dowd that CVHS broke their winning streak. Despite that, the team made it into NCS and

“We played well, won games, and held our heads up high.

Ian Silverness Senior

”

seeded eighth place on their way to play Amador Valley High School.

“We played well, won games, and held our heads up high,” said Silverness.

Though the soccer team finished their season earlier than expected, they played their hearts out and gave a truly remarkable effort, overall leaving them with 17-4-4.

Trojans sink the Pirates in last league match Boys win 5-0 against San Leandro

By Brandon Lui Copy Editor

The shifty weather on Feb. 12 didn’t stop the boys soccer team from scoring a landslide victory of 5-0 against the San Leandro Pirates.

Only eight minutes into the first half of the game and senior Jared Keys had already made the first goal of the game.

One of the Pirates tried to match Keys’ shot with a tackle and ended up missing and hitting his right leg against the goal post. After a ten minute game delay the San Leandro player had to be carried off the field.

Less than ten minutes after that, Keys got the ball to San Leandro’s right corner and slapped the ball into the left corner of the goal with the Pirates’ goalie diving the wrong way.

Coach and CVHS P.E. teacher John Edwards kept shouting to his team to keep up the pressure as the Pirates began to press the ball more onto the Trojans’ side.

The Pirates’ drive into Trojan territory was short lived as junior Nic Barradas deflected the ball on the few shots San Leandro attempted.

A light rain set in with San Le-

Girls cap their year with NCS crown

andro’s attempts at a goal which was shut down before getting close to the goal post.

Nearly 20 minutes into the first half, freshman Nick Lima got the ball and made the third goal. Within minutes, San Leandro lost the ball again and Keys went in for another shot, making the score 4-0.

The second half was depressing for San Leandro as the rallying cries and notably high-

pitched screams of their fans were met only with the Trojans regaining control of the ball and pitching it halfway across the field.

Twenty-one minutes into the last half Keys once again got the ball and placed it into the goal, making the score 5-0. Unfortunately, toward the end of the game, junior Anthony Martore took a nasty tackle to the left leg, prompting two teammates to carry him to the sideline.

The game ended with the sun fleeing and a score of 5-0, what Keys says is “a strong score going into NCS.”

Staff Writer

After going to the NCS semifinals for three years in a row the girls varsity soccer team finally took the championship title. They are the first HAAL team to become NCS champions.

Throughout all of their 27 games the Trojans maintained a no-loss record. Against all odds they beat San Ramon Valley, who has won the title four years in a row, 3-2. Though they were the underdogs the girls came out strong and played their game well.

“This is the year. It’s the best thing that has happened to this team and we’re going to be the first HAAL team to win it,” said Trojan defender Sabrina Alvaro before the championship game.

This tremendous feat has been a product of the remarkable work, time, and effort that the girls have put in. The champi-

onship was no easy game though; the girls struggled throughout the game to secure the win.

The entire first half was a true struggle. San Ramon Valley kept ball control and kept the pressure tight on the Trojans.

Late in the second half a foul was called on CVHS inside the 18yard box. The referee indicated it was a penalty kick and the Trojan fans and players were all anxious.

This could have been the deciding point of the game, but although San Ramon scored, CVHS didn’t let it stop them in their pursuit of the NCS title.

At half time, coach Paul McCallion rallied his players and told them, “Enjoy this. Look around, look at the crowd, make these last 40 minutes count, let’s go win this.”

The speech obviously worked.

Three minutes into the second half senior Micaela Castain passed the ball over the top of the San Ramon defense and dribbled through the whole defensive line to score a

beautiful goal. In an instant the Trojan crowd was on its feet.

The shot boosted the morale of the team and its supporters.

Then, just 12 minutes later, San Ramon committed a foul just outside of the 18-yard box.

Senior Eileen Maes placed the ball perfectly into the upper left corner of the goal to secure the win for the Trojans.

“It feels amazing, this was the most important game of the year, it couldn’t have gone better,” said Maes.

When time finally reached zero, all the girls rushed the field in a flurry of pride and joy. Four enthusiastic boys from CVHS rushed the field in brightly colored sports bras, though they were quickly escorted off the field.

After the awards were handed out and the Trojans had posed for all their pictures, they left the field with heads held high and a sense of accomplishment like no other.

Soccer twins’ new goal: college success

By Amanda Chouinard Staff Writer

The name Washington State University has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? It’ll have an even sweeter ring to it when the Cougars get Morgan and Micaela Castain on their soccer team this fall. The dynamic duo of twins are magical on the field together and equally good at soccer. That’s probably why WSU snatched them up. The twins recently signed with the Cougars, though it has been in the works for a while.

The Castains looked at many colleges before choosing WSU, but never separate colleges. The girls knew that they wanted to stay together.

“It never once crossed my mind to go to different schools,” said Micaela.

“That’s why we’re so good.

We push each other,” said Morgan.

The training will be intense; they’ll be practicing soccer all the time, which means that they will have no more time to go get fast food. But that’s okay as they’re supposed to cut that out of their diet anyways.

When asked if they are considering soccer after college, they both seem to think that going pro would be pretty awesome in general.

“If I get the chance to play in the World Cup, then that would be amazing,” said Morgan.

WSU is lucky to get this pair of talented twins. Hopefully one day they won’t be representing just Castro Valley, but the United States as well.

Nic Barradas / Staff Writer

The Castains stand victorious after a hard-won game. The twins will head to Washington State University next school year.

More schooling for teachers, officials say

By Irene Liang and Joseph Wan Castro Valley teachers are upset after the district threatened to suspend them without pay for not gaining certification to teach students learning English as a second language.

Castro Valley Unified School District notified teachers of a state certification requirement necessary to teach English learner students.

The California Court of Appeal ruled on Sept. 29 that a school district can lawfully terminate an employee for failing to be certified. About 29 CVHS teachers are uncertified.

In order to be certified, teachers must take four classes or pass three tests. The courses, if taken online, could cost up to $2,400. The exams cost a total of $265 and there is a registration fee of $38. According to Barbara Siegel, president of the Castro Valley Teachers Association (CVTA), each class is so comprehensive and time consuming that a full-time teacher can barely manage one online class.

According to Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Sherri Beetz, CVUSD offered a program to earn the certificate in 2002 and provided a two-week test-prep class for teachers in 2008.

The concern of the district is the equity of students and the compliance of teachers. As stipulated in Education Code 44253, English learner students must “have access to quality education [and] their special needs must be met by teachers who have essential skills and knowledge related to English language development, specially designed content instruction delivered in English, and content instruction delivered in the pupils’ primary languages.”

Teachers cannot teach English learner students without certification, which means English learner students have fewer options for courses. However, according to social studies teacher Carmelina Frasca, the California state law does not require all teachers to meet this requirement.

“Castro Valley has more teachers than required by law to meet the needs of those students. The district is choosing to require all teachers in the district to have the authorization,” said Frasca.

Though the requirement has existed since 1998, CVUSD has only recently required all teachers to be certified due to the increase of the number of English learner students in California

and in Castro Valley. There are currently around 100 students at CVHS who need certified teachers.

“We cannot and will not exclude a student from taking a particular course. Therefore, all teachers must hold the appropriate credentials and permits to provide equal access to all students,” said Beetz.

Nurses, counselors, preschool and adult school teachers, librarians, and speech therapists do not need certification.Teachers have been informed of the requirement via bulletins and notifications from the CVTA and a letter from the district.

“Over the past several years, we have been encouraging teachers to meet this requirement and have most recently spelled out the timeline for which this requirement must be met,” stated Beetz.

Teachers are upset with the cost and time involved to meet this requirement.

“The school may lose good teachers. It may force some teachers who might not have retired to retire early so that they don’t have to take these tests,” said Castro Valley Teachers Association President Barabara Siegel.

Students on Days of Diversity

By Hillman Zheng Business Manager

What do students expect from Days of Diversity this year?

“I expect to eat lots of food, and maybe learn a little too.” –Dylan Frankland, senior

Air Patrol callin’ to Collin “I expect arguing about which races are better.”

–Eric Colbert, freshman FACEBOOK: from page 1 was protected under the First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

Woodward said the administration does not wish to have the page removed, but advised students to “make sure you’re not slandering teachers, or claiming [to have committed] illegal acts.”

He also warns that students must realize the school does monitor Facebook since it is often used in review of a potential new teacher,

STORY: from page 1

Kearny Combs / Staff Writer

Junior Collin Henighan salutes to The Olympian.

By Kearny Combs Staff Writer

For Collin Henighan, a thousand feet in the air over land and sea with a possible chance of death is no big deal.

“There is more fun of flying for me than fear. I get to see the land from a different perspective and I get to do what’s called bank. It’s very fun to do because it’s like you’re falling out of the sky sideways,” Henighan said.

Henighan hasn’t flown in the air by himself yet because he doesn’t have a license, but he has enjoyed practice flights with a trainer at the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). He hopes to be a pilot in the Air Force someday.

Henighan found out about the CAP from a friend in the summer of his sophomore year.

“ Flying is just very

liberating. Unlike a roller coaster, you actually get to control the action up high.

Collin Henighan Junior

”

The CAP consists of three programs: the Cadet Program, which teaches students about

leadership, the Emergencies Services Program (search and rescue), and the Aerospace Education Program, which helps educate students about flying.

“Most people can benefit from the CAP. It helps students become disciplined and have responsibility. I’ve also noticed a change in my confidence level.

I’m not as reserved as I used to be,” said Henighan.

“My coach always said that flying is one of the most inhuman things to do.But maybe that’s why I enjoy it.” Henighan said. “Flying is just very liberating. Unlike a roller coaster, you actually get to control the action up high.”

inely happy and didn’t show fear at all.

Once the genocide in Darfur began, Wilkens and his wife dedicated their time to spreading their story. They started an educational non-profit organization called World Outside My Shoes. In 2009 they started their newest project

ROBBER: from page 1 [him up],” said Jensen.

All four people tried to negotiate with him. They told him that they were afraid of the gun and the only way they would come with him was if he would put the gun down. The thief agreed and put the gun down.

At that point the jogger kicked him in the face and got a head lock around him. Jensen said he started hitting him in the face while Har-

“I want to learn about traditional Chinese ceremony dresses.” –Cassandra Wong, sophomore

“I expect to see a lot of different performances and learn about different cultures.”

–Cecilia Tang, junior a method many employers use today to learn a little more about their future hires.

While the increasingly popular page has caused some dispute, it has also managed to create a connection for current CVHS students and alumni alike. With a place to share stories and all of the memories, “You Know You Went to Castro Valley High When…..” is likely to keep many laughing, and soon, looking back and reminiscing on times long past.

Pedaling 2 Peace, in which they ride across the country on their bikes, telling their story.

Wilkens’ story showed that anyone can make a difference, even if it’s something small and helpful. To read more about Wilkens’ story you can go to www.worldoutsidemyshoes. org. man and Saxton kicked him all around his other open areas.

As they were doing this, one of them screamed for someone to call the police. Their call was heard and police arrived, as well as an ambulance to take the suspect away on a stretcher.

It turns out the gun was only an air-soft pistol. The police told the victims that they did a good job of defending themselves and they took the robber to Juvenile Hall, said Harman.