May 16, 2014

Volume 57, Issue 10

Castro Valley High School www.cvhsolympian.com

May 16, 2014

New ASB president “Sparks” Trojan pride

By Eva Chen Feature Editor

Kelly Chan / Online Editor

John Lin and Mei-lian Lin hold a picture of their beloved daughter, Jenny Lin, who was found murdered in her family’s Palomares home 20 years ago.

Jenny Lin still inspires 20 years later

By Kelly Chan Online Editor

Summer evenings at Canyon Middle School consist of student musicians creating music and making lasting connections.

The program offers the student musicians opportunities to further serve their community on weekends by making ecofriendly beads, or developing professional skills by leading the program.

This program was established in memory of Jenny Lin, a 14-year-old student who attended Canyon Middle School.

On May 27, 1994, Jenny took the bus home from school. Later that evening, she was found murdered in her family’s Palomares home. It was right before Memorial Day weekend.

Since then, Jenny’s parents John Lin and Mei-Lian Lin established the Jenny Lin Foundation, which focuses on spreading child safety awareness and advocating for youth musicianship. John and Mei-Lian have let Jenny’s legacy inspire many other people around the Bay Area.

This is the 20th anniversary of the case, and the investigation has been very long, intensive and thorough. There have been

no suspects arrested in the case, but the sheriff’s office believes that Jenny’s killer may already be in jail.

Sheriff’s officers named Sebastian Alexander Shaw a suspect in the case in 2006, though they have not discussed any evidence against him. Now 46 years old, Shaw was convicted of three 1990s murders in Oregon and sentenced to three life sentences.

“I believe that there is a good likelihood that he is our guy,” said Detective Greg Landeros, one of numerous officers who have been on the case from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. Landeros also believes that investigators must keep an open mind and continue looking for other leads.

"Our love for Jenny was so strong, and continues to be so strong, so we don't want her to die in vain," said Mei-Lian. The Lins spoke about how anyone would have had a hard time dealing with such a tragedy, and could easily fall into depression.

"We don't want her to be a statistic,” added John. “She came into the world with a purpose.”

Jenny had aspired to be part of the CVHS track team, played music and enjoyed her life laughing with friends. The Lins created

Break out of gender roles Page 2: How the media affects our society

the program that would allow other students to play music and enjoy their times with friends too.

The foundation plans and runs a six-week long program every summer, along with other events to spread safety awareness in the community. The Lins said that this program was something Jenny would have participated in.

"We want Jenny to be proud of us," said Mei-Lian. "That's why we’re doing this. We see kids having fun. We’re making a difference. Even if it doesn't impact the rest of their lives, it brings them joy for those few years.”

Through the program, the Lins have given back to the community that supported them in their time of need. By seeing the difference that they made through the program, the Lins were able to emotionally cope with Jenny’s tragedy.

What would the Lins say to Jenny today? “You were the best daughter that any parent could hope for. Because of you, we have the courage and energy and be able to serve other children. We know if you were able to be here, you would have been doing all this yourself,” said Mei-Lian.

“Whenever you look at us, I know you’ll have a big smile on your face,” said John.

“Hey, get up, get out, start pumping up the party now,” said Jenna Sparks, next year’s ASB president, quoting American pop icon Miley Cyrus. After winning the election in April, Sparks promised the next school year will be filled with fun and success.

Other ASB officers for 20142015 Konnor Callihan, vice president, Haley Pryde, secretary, Jessica Yin, treasurer, and Spencer Dong, school board representative.

“I believe that everyone should be their absolute best. If elected president, I would be the catalyst to your success,” Sparks pledged before the election.

“We are better together,” said Callihan.

Each officer brings unique goals and ideas that help create next year’s ASB dream team.

“As ASB secretary, I would love to create an even friendlier and inclusive vibe for the school and amp up school participation of school events,” said Pryde.

“One of my main goal is to make a fund specifically for new activities. Another one of my goal is to have funds to bring back programs such as the Renaissance program,” said Yin. “I would represent the whole school’s viewpoint, not my own.

I will work hard to look at all the concerns of students. In the end

Jenna Sparks

the entire school’s voice will be heard knowing that the decisions will not be mine but ours,” said Dong.

The senior class officers for next year are Alyssa RoqueRodarte, president, Kathryn Truong, vice president, Lisa Keebler, secretary, and Amelia Ortiz, treasurer.

Next year’s junior class officers are Kaitlyn Darling, president, Kosta Lembesis, vice president, Emma Iredale, secretary, and Nikita Khurana, treasurer.

Sophomore class officers are Karen Tam, president, Nicole Bagdadlian, vice president, Jennifer Ng, secretary, and Tatiana Marenco-Quintana, treasurer.

As a group, these 17 officers will lead Trojans into accomplishing new ideas and finding solutions for old concerns.

New SBAC is backed

by CVHS teachers

By Brittany Roberts Staff Writer

At CVHS, a new test was distributed among the students.

This test is called SBAC, or Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. The SBAC is a computerized exam that will be used in place of the STAR test to evaluate the learning process of students from grades nine to 11.

The SBAC assessments are aligned to the Common Core

How great is Gatsby?

Page 4: Astounding play amazes audiences

standards in English language arts and mathematics. They consists of two parts in total.

CVHS ran a field test on the SBAC to see how it would affect our school.

“I think we will look back and be happy that we’re using the SBAC instead of the STAR test because it is a lot easier to use.

See SBAC: Page 8

Yellow Jackets swatted down Page 6: Trojans claim victory, 2-1

Don’t let the media define gender roles

Editorial: “The most common way people give up power is thinking they don’t have any,” said the great feminist Alice Walker.

According to Miss Representation, a documentary directed by Jennifer Siebel, American teenagers spend 31 hours a week watching television, 17 hours a week listening to music, three hours a week watching movies, four hours a week reading magazines, and ten hours a week online. Per day, that is ten hours and 45 minutes infiltrated by media influence.

Through these various outlets, we are exposed to images of men and women—more specifically, images of men and women that reinforce the stereotypical gender roles which the media aims to keep in place. Despite witnessing this evident problem, most people believe they do not have the power to stop the harmful influence.

We at The Olympian believe that the media fails to reflect our evolving gender roles, and that as a people, we must take action to subdue the influence of media in our everyday lives.

The most common victims of average advertisements are women.

Women are usually depicted as individuals who care only for looks, emphasizing make-up at a young age, an “ideal” yet impossibly perfect figure, and subordination to men. In several advertisements, companies go as far as illustrating women as not only inferior to men, but as servants willing to endure sexual abuse (as seen in various Calvin Klein and Bebe advertisements). In this way, women of all ages grow up feeling insecure about their bodies and behavior.

These advertisements push women to be something they are not: photoshopped models with perfect skin and bodies, and unintelligent, sexual objects that exist only to please men.

How can we encourage people to break out of gender roles and stereotypes?

“I feel that we need to give the people who want to break away from social norm the chance to do so. At the moment, I feel that society is not doing enough to help with this.”

Gavin Halloran, freshman

Grace Moon / Staff Writer

In this same vein, male behavior is also heavily influenced by the way media defines their roles.

Advertisements depict men as the “macho” bread-winners of the family, who gain power, intelligence, and respect from “manly” activities and subjects, such as drinking, drugs, sex, fast cars, and dangerous dare-devil sports. What is ironic about the “brave” stereotypical gender role males are given is that it is associated with physical strength and fighting. However, being brave can and is feminine too. In fact, bravery is human – it is human to be open with emotions; opening up is brave, courageous.

It is a form of risk-taking, an act that can jeopardize one’s emotions – a pain that takes longer to heal, whereas physical hurt takes just a few days to heal. This emotional bravery is often depicted as weakness, tied to the stereotypical female nature; however, the physical bravery is tied to masculinity

and power.

This begs the question, why does the media downplay the bravery in emotional openness, and instead force men to bottle their emotions?

How do we fight to stop this phenomenon?

As people, we do have the power to keep these gender roles in mind when glancing through a magazine, flipping through television channels, or scrolling down social media sites. What we see in a photoshop model is not what a realistic body type is. What we absorb in an advertisement about sports being just for men doesn’t mean girls can’t pick up a basketball and try out for the school team.

The main idea we must all keep in mind is that we do not make up the media. In order to start a collective thought process against gender roles, individuals must understand that the media feeds us images that will sell each company’s products, not images that reflect reality.

hidden out in our big open field where the children use nothing but their ears to find them. Since some children have a little vision, blindfolds are provided to make the game fair.

We have to replace eggs because when children open them to disconnect the battery, they crack the egg.

Besides the egg hunt, this event features many other activities that everyone enjoys. These activities include but are not limited to, a play structure, trampoline and a 70-foot zip line across our hill.

In the past, we borrowed our neighbor's horse to give rides to the children, but liability is very hard to come by now.

This event brings together the visually impaired community for many different reasons. First off, this is pretty much the only real way to make egg hunting accessible to blind people because real eggs cannot be heard or smelled.

If blind people used their canes to tap the ground and feel for eggs, real non beeping ones would probably break.

Secondly, a lot of blind children might not get to do activities such as zip line riding due to monetary

limitations and parent limitations.

A zip line ride at a commercial operation can cost over $40 whereas our zip line is free. Also, a lot of parents would never dream of allowing their children to participate in certain activities that this event provides simply because they have low expectations.

As a host of this event, I get many thrills and enjoyments.

For example, when I am helping people board the zip line, I feel like a ride operator at an amusement park. Besides helping with activities, I also enjoy delivering invitations and making them.

As a matter of fact, I was a student at the majority of the schools where we deliver the invitations.

This means that I get to visit the teachers I used to have while I am notifying the students of my great and helpful event.

This event was inspired by a story my father read in the newspaper about a blind child who was unable to hunt easter eggs.

In the story, one of the sighted children decided to allow the blind child to hunt eggs like everyone else, so my dad thought it would be good to do this for our community.

Easter Egg Hunt for Visually Impaired

By Daniel Witte Staff Writer

Blind and visually impaired children congregate for an accessible Easter Egg Hunt.

On April 19, 2014, our family had what we call a Beeping Easter Egg Hunt for the visually impaired children in Castro Valley. This was our 15th annual and I plan to host for as long as my family lets me.

Every so often our family has to go and buy plastic Easter eggs, electronic beeper devices and nine volt batteries. These electronic beepers are inserted into the plastic eggs before they are

PHOTOpinions pinions PHOTO

By: Cameron Beresini

“Society as a whole needs to make it easier for people to break out of gender roles and stereotypes. I feel that by creating more awareness about people who want to do so, and have done so, others may follow in their footsteps.”

Gina Pellegrini, sophomore “I don’t think that equality needs to be highly encouraged upon the general population, because most occupations are now widely accepting of people from all walks of life. If people want to break free from social norms and stereotypes, they will do it on their own accord.”

Grey Janowski, junior “I feel like gender roles are a lot of interpretation from what people see in media, and are taught at a fairly younger age. In order to change these things, we need to make it so people understand that it is ok not to conform to what the media calls normal, and to find their own place in society.”

Belinda Liu, senior

Letter to the Editor

Dear Olympian staff, I just wanted to write a quick note to thank you for another wonderful issue of The Olympian, which I finally got around to reading this morning. Although I am speaking specifically about the March 28 issue, you know of course that I have been and will always be The Olympian’s number one fan and I try to never miss an issue. Your articles are always poignant, insightful and somehow, avoid all of the horrible clichés we associate with student-written newspapers. Selfishly, I would like to give specific shout outs to Ms. Jelks and

Letters to the Editor

Mr. Talajkowski for their articles on Junior Prom and Every 15 Minutes, respectively, but again, reading over the rest of the issue is informative and fascinating to me.

Congratulations to you and your entire staff for putting out such an outstanding narrative of what being at Castro Valley High School is really like and what our amazing students are really thinking about. I will always be your biggest fan and thank you for all of your work.

Nicholas Whitaker, Activities/Leadership director

The Olympian encourages letters from our readers. Please note that letters must be signed and no longer than 200 words. 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.

The Olympian May 16, 2014

3

The true meaning of beauty Are fibs really that bad?

“No, it doesn’t look bad. I just don’t think it’s the right one for you,” I replied for the millionth time as my friend tried on formal dresses. After all, I reason, the dress doesn’t look that bad, and I was being completely honest when I said I didn’t think it was the right one.

I lied to my friend. Well, I told her a white lie. What’s the difference? White lies are little fibs or slanted truths that are different from a blatant lie because they are told with good intention. People do it all the time to avoid offending others or to eliminate unwanted and possibly negative outcomes to their honest answers.

To most opinion-based ques-

tions, there is a certain unspoken trust that the responder will answer truthfully. Society has taught us that there are certain things, such as weight, appearance and criticism, that are impolite to give truthful answers to because they can potentially damage and lower one’s self-esteem and jeopardize their relationship.

In my experience, little fibs here or there are a little risky. Everyone lies and it’s a common thing occurring anywhere and at any time.

Lies are never justified, but they are understandable. Most of the time people say they prefer total honesty with no safety filter, but sometimes people just want to be lied to.

Like medicine, a white lie is a form of relief people take to make a potentially bad situation better and keep it from getting worse. Everyone has their reasons, whether it is to maintain friendly relationships, keep from getting in trouble with your parents or simply telling your kids that Santa is real. Little lies are harmless.

Telling white lies may be annoying and obviously untruthful, but keep in mind that most people are just trying to be considerate of your feelings.

terly confused when reading my tasks. The way the content was presented was confusing but the biggest problem I had was making calculations on a computer screen.

There was no paper or pencil for me to keep track of my work, a limitation which I had a hard time with. After so many years of having booklets to write in and being able to show work, using the computer just threw me off. I wasn’t able to see the steps I had taken to get my answer and I feel that it left a lot of room for mistakes since I didn’t have a visual of my work. The program the test is taken on provides a calculator and that is what is to be used, but I believe that calculations and the

steps taken to compute a problem are more efficiently done on paper.

The questions in the math section required critical thinking about how to solve problems and apply them to real life situations, which was an improvement.

Overall I feel the SBAC is a better test, but the formatting has a long way to go. There needs to be accommodations to those who prefer writing their thought process out to help students feel confident with their performance. The SBAC is a work in progress, and I am sure that with trial and error the test will soon be perfected to meet the needs of students and assure that the assessment of the student is reasonable and fair.

By Karla Paredes Staff Writer

There are a lot of times when we believe that we are different than others. And I’ve got to admit, it’s kind of beautiful and selfless. I know that there is a lot of controversy in what the word “beauty” means, but let me tell you what I think is beautiful. I find the action of realizing differences completely extraordinary.

I believe that what makes us human is the ability of realizing the difference among our own specie and accepting it as not bad, but rather wonderful.

It’s amazing to me the acceptance we show one another during hard times. We agree that we are different, but when something terrible happens, it is as if our race, religion, language, beliefs and everything that makes

By Leia Saelee A&E Editor

us different from one another just sheds off. As if for once, we forget the beauty in difference and are willing to see the not-so-beautiful part of not only us personally, but us as a human race.

I tend to believe that if you try too hard to find beauty in things, you’ll never find it. Beauty is not that thing that you suddenly found in an old friendship. Beauty is the friendship as a whole. We take it for granted. Most of the time when people look for beauty and do not find it, it is because of two reasons: they don’t seem to know where to

Leia Saelee / A&E Editor

start looking or they know what they’re looking for.

See, and that’s the beauty of it; you don’t have to look for it. It’s there in that small child crying on a plane, in your friend laughing at your bad joke, in your parents warning you to not touch the hot stove. Beauty is in me, writing about beauty and you reading it.

Beauty is in the fact that we are able to read. Beauty is in the fact that I am capable of sharing my thoughts with you and you being able to nod your head and agree or shake your head and disagree.

SBAC is a better test but still needs more improvements

By Stephanie Huerta Feature Editor

This year, with the new Common Core Standards, juniors took the SBAC to test it out. Unlike the

STAR test we were so accustomed to, the SBAC presented a whole new format and was done completely through Chromebooks.

The test required students to log into an application on the Chromebook with IDs provided by the teachers. Each student had to be admitted into the test by the teacher and we found ourselves with many technical difficulties, including saving our progress on the test and submitting the test itself. While the program used to administer the test was easy to use, the content was extremely different.

The content for the English part was more relatable than anything the STAR test ever presented.

The passages from the STAR test I felt were always super random topics, but the SBAC presented topics I had discussed in my US history class and my psychology class. This made them a lot easier to work with.

I felt an improvement with the level of thinking in the English section of the SBAC when compared to the STAR. The SBAC was shorter than the STAR test, only 27 questions. Some of these questions were longer than any the STAR presented, but overall, I felt these questions were better.

However, I cannot say the same for the math section of the SBAC. While the math section of this test was only six questions, I felt ut-

gain that sense of independence and freedom. Most importantly, I didn’t want to be so sheltered anymore and I wanted to make decisions on my own.

Little did I know the expensive costs of out-of-state tuition. Immediately, when I did more research, I knew I couldn’t afford any of it, so I was left with in-state schools.

Months had passed and I received all my college decisions.

Receiving the letters from each college was exciting and nerveracking. I know I’m not the only one when I say that I remember being nervous and had trouble sleeping for weeks when certain decisions were released online. The whole process was exhilarating.

Tears were shed, hugs were passed along, and the happiness and joy you feel once you get into one of your top colleges is impossible to replicate.

After receiving all of my college letters, I sent my statement of intent, and finally, reality hit me.

I’m actually going to go to college...away from home. What?

For the first time, the idea of college wasn’t all fun and games anymore. I’m no longer going to see my friends and family every day. I can’t devour my mom’s daily

home cooked Chinese cuisines.

I’m going to have to do my own laundry. Everything is on me now.

The confidence and excitement I had had suddenly faded, and I began to doubt my decision. Part of me wanted to immediately change my mind and go somewhere close to home. I started to feel regretful for not trying harder in school these past four years. I felt nostalgic and I didn’t know where I wanted to be.

The idea of change is scary to some people, like myself. However, how are we supposed to succeed if we are just comfortable all the time? We grow and learn the most as individuals placed in unfamiliar territory. We need to discover new things, be openminded, and put ourselves out there in the real world.

Even though there’s a part of me that still wants to stay close, I’m no longer in doubt of my decision.

I’m excited to embark on and take advantage of the endless opportunities and experiences in these next four years of my life.

Even though UC San Diego will be my new home, I know the Bay Area will always be my true home. After all, home is where the heart is.

“Home is where the heart is”

By Joyce Liang City Editor

One night during spring break, I was sitting in my room planning out the classes I want to take for fall quarter in college. In the midst of reading course descriptions, I couldn’t help but suddenly feel anxiety. Sure, it was late at night and it seems like it’s during those times I can either be deep in thought or philosophical. But just thinking about the last four years of high school and college sparked mixed feelings about my new change.

Before I applied for colleges, all I wanted to do was apply for ones that were far away from home. I knew I wanted distance so I could

The Olympian is a publication of the journalism class at Castro Valley High School, 19400 Santa Maria Ave., Castro Valley, CA 94546. © 2014

Editors-in-Chief.....................................................................Lily Carrell Reema Kakaday City Editor......................................................................Joyce Liang News Editor..............................................................Matt Talajkowski Opinion Editor............................................................Suzanna Chak Feature Editors.....................................................................Eva Chen Stephanie Huerta Sports Editor..................................................................Amanat Riar Arts and Entertainment Editor......................................Leia Saelee Photo Editor........................................................Lauren Jelks Felicianna Marquez Business Manager......................................................Anna Talajkowski Online Editors........................................................................Kelly Chan Evan Kwong Staff Writers: Cameron Beresini, Robbie Brandt, Luke Busby, Alison Dhont, Rachel Du, Sally Liang, Tyler Macias, Grace Moon, Anna Nguyen, Amelia Ortiz, Karla Paredes, Tyler Quan, Brittany Roberts, Callie Ross-Smith, Adrianna Vandiver, Daniel Witte Advisor........................................................................Matt Johanson

Old sports gather at Gatsby’s

By Callie Ross-Smith Staff Writer

The newest CVHS production, The Great Gatsby, captured what love is and how it affects people and other relationships around them. The play had all the lavishly loud parties and the confused feelings that are constantly seen from the infamous novel, or most recently, the movie that was released last year.

Mickey Slakey successfully portrayed the charming title

character through speech patterns and even all the way down to the very movement of his feet as he dances to a jazzy tune with the leading lady, Daisy Buchanan, who was played by Haley Pryde.

“Playing Gatsby was really fun. All I had to do was smile,” said Slakey.

“It was definitely the most fun thing I’ve been in--everything was amazing,” Pryde said.

Other characters came to life as well, such as the jealous husband Tom Buchanan,

played by Zach Cutler-Orrey, who convincingly struggled to keep Daisy, making the audience forget that this was a high school play.

The two-part play effectively allowed for the build-up of the romance, and then showed Tom Buchanan piece together Gatsby’s mysterious past. The audience broke into tears when narrator Nick Carraway said the final words of the play: “No one cares! Where’s the party goers now?”

The show ran from May 2 through May 11.

4th Annual Poetry and Art Show

By Rachel Du Staff Writer

Callie Ross-Smith / Staff Writer

Daisy Buchanan (Haley Pryde) and Jay Gatsby (Mickey Slakey) share a romantic moment on stage.

Pat Parker parts ways with CVHS

By Sally Liang Staff Writer

Pat Parker, one of the longestserving teacher at CVHS, will be the next teacher to announce her retirement follow after a sequence of resigning news by other fellow teachers.

“They say if you find a job you love, you never have to work a day in your life. That is how I feel about working here,” said Parker.

The news sparked a standing ovation from the much-surprised students. Parker’s announcement also triggered immediate speculation about who might replace her in the health department.

“Good teachers play a significant role in making us who we are. They are doing something that no one else can do: changing our view of the word and making us into something better than we were before,” said freshman Song Quan. “In fact, Ms. Parker is one of them! As a teacher, she makes sure everyone understands the concept. As an advisor of Key Club, she keeps things in check. You will be greatly missed, Ms. Parker!”

Receiving a Early Childhood Development Degree at Chabot College, she transferred and graduated from Cal State East Bay in three years with the credential to teach high school science.

Teaching at CVHS for 33 years up until now, Parker has taught classes from life science, marine biology, integrated science, health, kitchen chemistry to advanced courses including Honors Chemistry and AP Environmental science.

“Teaching is a great profession!” exclaimed Parker.

During her teaching career at CVHS, Parker recalled touring at Lawrence Livermore laboratory and met her e-mail pals from Moscow and Texas in 1995. The following year, she had the privilege traveling to Russia to share her water quality experiment, a lab

Pat Parker

to test existence of heavy metals in contaminated water. The Russian audience exchanged ideas in laboratory reports and stayed in contact with Parker’s lab group as result of their fascination to the experiment and their “extraordinary American” accent.

“It was remarkable to tour around the Los Alamos lab where the hydrogen bombs began, and of course I was traveling with the Russians together. It was a peacetime,” said Parker.

With the new insights she gained in Russia, Parker resumed her career with a novel teaching style.

Often having to emphasize discipline and rote learning, she stressed a more open approach and offered a variety of activities to reinforce new concepts.

Having taught APES for three years in the past, a great amount of students in respective courses such as Calculus, APUSH, and APES achieved a significant number of fives in the AP score. In a show of passion and gratitude, she was proud to receive the nominal Siemens award for her beloved school.

“Lastly, I would like to reiterate my thanks for the support from the health department and all of the people who have worked here,” said Parker. “To my students, stay focused on your academic work and your dreams. Do not give up because every day the mindset on achieving goals will assist you toward success.”

In the words of junior Katelyn King, “Poetry is depressing.”

On the afternoon of April 26, she and around 20 other high school contestants, knew this better than anyone as they nervously gripped sheets of poetry in their hands and waited. They were chosen from over 200 submissions to read and present their work at the fourth annual Poetry and Art Show.

Hosted by the Castro Valley Educational Foundation (CVEF) and the local district, the show brings out local talents to showcase their work and awards the top three winners with cash prizes.

“Just to see their creativity, effort, and imagination really excites me,” said CVEF chairwoman Winda Shimizu.

As proud parents and friends were positioning their cameras and settling in, superintendent Jim Negri gave a short introduction and hurried to finish, saying that, “The worst thing you can do as an administrator is speak after students. There’s nothing you can do to impress parents after the students speak.”

His words rang true the moment the junior Viviana Cervantes broke the brief silence and began her poem. Following her was a string of angst-ridden teenage poets who all earned their enthusiastic applauses.

Rachel Du / Staff Writer

Student contestants gather to show off their awards from participating in the fourth annual Poetry and Art Show.

“I want to say we’re not all just filled with teenage angst, but listening to all the poems, we kind of are,” said junior Willow Yang, who presented the poem and artwork titled “Self/All.” Other works showcased were “The Lights” by Spencer Purdy and “Time” by Kevin Morimoto.

The reading was concluded by an award ceremony, placing junior Tamia Leung at first place with her poem “Strong and Free.”

“The experience was really fun and interesting. I hope I can do this again next year,” said junior Joanna Lam, who placed fourth with her poem and artwork titled

“Seeds.”

“CVEF thanks Tina Johansson and Anne Parris for mentoring and supporting the students that entered their poems in the show,” said Shimizu. “Their dedication was crucial to the success of the event.”

Students had not only found their voices, but thanks to the efforts of CVEF and the district, they had the chance to share them.

“Writing is more than just words. It’s what you want to tell the world,” said junior Stephany Moncada, who wrote the poem “Where Love Comes From.”

After 14 years, Fletcher says farewell

By Grace Moon Staff Writer

After 14 years of teaching, math teacher Dianne Fletcher will be saying goodbye as she finishes her last year at CVHS. Having taught everything from Algebra 1 to AP Calculus, Fletcher takes pride in her teaching and her career here.

“For me, math is cool,” she said fondly.

Originally a volunteer at her children’s school, she decided to develop that passion into teaching.

“I thought, well, might as well get paid,” she said with a laugh.

“In my generation, girls weren’t supposed to be smart. We were supposed to pretend that we weren’t smart or else boys wouldn’t like us,” said Fletcher. “However, I felt differently. I believed girls needed to be proud of the fact that they

Dianne Fletcher

were smart and capable.”

Just as Fletcher had decided to accept the unacceptable back in her years, she has applied this fervor and passion into teaching her own students. Her philosophy was to teach students that they could

push themselves into surprising themselves with how capable they were and reaching their fullest potential.

Fletcher recalled her first year of teaching AP Calculus, on how it was a success, and how everyone did exceptionally. She was especially proud of them and herself.

“She was one of the toughest teachers I have ever had, preparing us so well for the AP test,” said senior Katie Neff. “She should really be a college professor instead of a high school teacher. She really is incredibly smart.”

“Over the years, I’ve learned that teaching requires a lot more patience and flexibility,” said Fletcher. “I’ve gotten extremely good at spotting errors. But I am going to miss all the jokes, and the kids. Kids are fun, they really are.

And I’m going to miss all that.”

Divergent a clear choice to watch

By Tyler Quan

Staff Writer

word for having characteristics of several factions. Her categorization is known as a "Divergent." In this set-up society, Divergents are a threat to its system and will be killed on the spot. As she embarks on the journey to challenge society, Tris meets Four Eaton (Tobias) acted by Theo James, whom she inevitably grows to like.

After seeing this movie, I couldn't help but compare Diver-

Alison Dhont/ Staff Writer

gent to The Giver and The Hunger Games. I found similarities in the depiction of a futuristic society and agree with the insightful prediction of the corruption of our system and the influence of society. I was convinced that the movie was intriguing and I enjoyed my time in the theatre. All in all, this movie was successful in my eyes, and I recommend that everyone take a trip to the movies to see Divergent.

We all scream for ice “CREAM”

By Lauren Jelks Photo Editor

Type “cream” in the hashtag search bar of Instagram. The first thing that will probably come up?

Probably a well posed picture of a crumpled, white half paper bag with a circular blue design and bright orange letters spelling CREAM (and underneath that, in all white, “Cookies Rule Everything Around Me”), filled with a cookie/ice cream sandwich of any variation. Try it, seriously.

The first CREAM was opened in Berkeley in 2010. From there, it has expanded to five other locations throughout the Bay Area, making this the only place in the world

to experience first hand the taste of an ice cream taco, or ice cream sandwich made specially how CREAM does it.

My first CREAM experience took place with two friends in Berkeley. Entranced by the legend of an ice cream sandwich that was so amazing, people stood in lines for up to 20 minutes just to get a taste. We waited, and waited, and anticipated the glory of finally getting to the front of the line. The second we got inside the actual store (the line stretched up the block quite a ways), the scent of sugar cones, ice cream, and fresh cookies invaded our nostrils. It’s like this place is warm in more ways than just the temperature.

Then, I was right at the front of the line. It was my time to shine.

I got an ice cream sandwich with two chocolate chip cookies and pistachio ice cream. The cost? Two dollars. Now at this point I didn’t care if this was a mediocre combo of ice cream or what have you. I

was beyond blissful that my dessert was costing less than parking had cost. We headed outside, and finally took bites of what I can only describe as a piece of heaven.

You think I’m overreacting, but until you have one, you will never understand the pleasant crunch of a still-warm, melting, chocolate chip cookie mixed with the bitingly minty and cold taste of the pistachio ice cream.

It took me three city blocks to finish my ice cream sandwich. It took about 15 selfies to fully capture the glee I was feeling whilst munching on something so seemingly simple yet fantastically amazing. And it took me about a day to realize I needed another one.

Their menu has tons of options, of ice creams, toppings, and cookie flavors. They cater, and the service is fast and worth it. I can only sum up my emotions (and recommendation) for CREAM in my mother’s words: “Well that was the best two dollars I’ve ever spent.”

her story and sends her to live in a mental asylum, and she is evaluated by doctors who believe her tales as little as her father does. She is close to receiving “treatment” that would erase her memories of Wonderland when she is rescued by the White Rabbit and the Knave of Hearts. After her return to Wonderland, Alice tries to find her true love—a genie named Cyrus—and tries not to get caught by the Red Queen or Jafar (yes, based on Jafar in Aladdin).

I love this show. Each episode has a sub-conflict that is resolved in the end, while the larger, overarching conflict expands throughout the season, leaving viewers with the perfect amount of satisfaction and mystery to keep them coming back next week.

The actors, especially Sophie Lowe (Alice), Michael Socha (Knave), Peter Gadiot (Cyrus),

and Emma Rigby (Red Queen), do a terrific job of bringing their characters to life and connecting with the viewers.

I do have one complaint though.

The gigantic, purple, hookahsmoking caterpillar with a human face and pink, gold-rimmed glasses hiding his eyes with blood-red, pincher-like hands is somewhat scary. While he is not on either side of the fight between Alice, the Knave, and Cyrus, and the Red Queen, Jafar, and the Jabberwocky, he is still dangerous. He is the equivalent of the mafia mixed with a gang sprinkled with a tad bit of loan shark.

Although the show only ran for one season that had 13 episodes and ended on April 3, it is packed full of suspense, action and magic.

I would recommend that anyone who enjoys adventure and love stories to watch it.

Once Upon A Time In Wonderland a big hit

By Suzanna Chak Opinion Editor

A talking rabbit, a genie, a knave, and a queen—what more could a show possibly need? Why, true love of course, which is where the main character Alice comes in.

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland is a spin-off of the show Once Upon a Time, which follows the lives of fairytale characters that have been cursed and sent to live in our world. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland is focused on Alice and her life after her trip to Wonderland in the well-known book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

by Lewis Carroll.

Alice’s father does not believe

No a h f l o o d s b ox o f f i ce

By Callie Ross-Smith

Staff Writer

Thinking about going to the movies this weekend with your friends and family but not knowing what to watch? Simply, choose Divergent. Although Divergent was not as big of a hype compared to Frozen or The Hunger Games, it is definitely a movie both friends and family will enjoy.

Based on the book, this actionpacked movie is staged in a futuristic dystopian society where there are five separate factions which serve as divisions of characteristics: selflessness Abnegations, peacefulness Amity, bravery Dauntless, honesty Candor, and intelligence Erudite. At the age of 16, Beatrice “Tris” Prior (Shailene Woodley), receives her faction test result as “inconclusive,” another

5

It has already been a few days since I saw the movie Noah, and I still can’t completely determine whether or not I enjoyed it. The movie definitely was not a traditional Bible movie. There were many concepts put into it, and I was fascinated by it, despite me not being overly religious. The whole time, I was thinking that the movie was a biblical mixture of Transformers, The Titanic, and Clash of the Titans.

The movie is absolutely stunning, considering the fact that all animals that were computer graphics. The costumes and props are more modern looking than what I imagine possible in BC times, which is very fitting to the characters and setting. A large portion of the movie is in a forest and barren desert, and every scene that was filmed in these areas are well set up.

Though most people know how the story of Noah ends, director

Darren Aronofsky is still able to keep the plot unexpected and different, adding various sub-plots and internal conflicts between Noah, who was played by Russell Crowe, and his family, which included other A-list actors.

That said though, be warned.

Like most movies that are based on books, not everything in the movie sticks page by page to the book.

The movie has all the basic concepts, but it delves much deeper into things that weren’t even mentioned in the original story.

Also, Noah is not for those who can’t handle gore. It would be fair to say that about two thirds of the movie involves many people dying in gruesome and torturous ways.

I am not one for being grossed out easily at death or blood, but there were a few parts where I was definitely feeling a little queasy from the amount of gore that was presented in some scenes. There is without a doubt no lack of emphasizing how horribly everyone dies.

It’s thoroughly present throughout the duration of the film.

This movie was most certainly different. Noah while having the expected religious tones could easily be enjoyed by action movie goers and Christians alike. Just prepare an open mind for this twist on such a well-known tale.

Foodies find their home at Aroma

By Amanat Riar Sports Editor

Living in Castro Valley definitely has its advantages. One thing in particular is the diversity here.

There are so many people of different cultures that make the town special and with that comes a variety of food! A special restaurant that deserves recognition is Aroma Cuisine of India located in Castro Village.

The name says it all. As soon as you walk in, you can smell the aroma of hot, fresh, and exotic Indian food. Aroma is located in a very small building and after walking in, there is a warm and inviting feeling in the atmosphere.

I recently went in to try their lunch buffet and was immediately, pleasantly surprised. The first thing I ordered was a mango lassi, which is a Indian version of a mango smoothie. The familiar taste made me excited to finally try the food!

For starters, I had a few Paneer Pa-

koras, which are by far, my favorite snacks to have. These are pieces of deep fried cheese and seasoned with Indian spices.

After that, I moved onto the lunch buffet. The main reason why this is my favorite is because of the mouth-watering chicken tikka masala. In all honesty, there are no words to describe this dish cooked in creamy tomato sauce and spices other than saying it is simply delicious. Pair that with some garlic naan and you’ve got the perfect combination.

The daal (lentils) and mattar paneer (cheese) also added to the experience and it all tasted like actual authentic Indian food, while still having a restaurant-esque flavor to it. To top it all off, I ended with the gulab jamun for dessert, which is a sweet dish of spongy milky dough balls deep fried and served in rose scented syrup.

The only problem I had is that I could not just have one serving. I ended up going back for seconds and even thirds!

Overall, Aroma is definitely worth it all. The prices are affordable at $8.95 for the lunch buffet, the atmosphere makes you feel at home, and the food is heavenly.

6

Stinging victory against Yellow Jackets, 2-1

By Daniel Witte Staff Writer

The Trojans played a baseball game against the Berkeley Yellow Jackets on May 6. The winning team was CVHS and the score was 2 to 1.

It was a very big struggle for the team because it was a tight game with lots of outs. These outs were caused by people catching the ball in the air, but overall, both teams made great hits.

This is not the first time the Trojans played the Yellow Jackets. “We played them last year,” said Kevin Burt, pitcher.

Although Burt thinks he did well, he has many supporters that agree.

“I think we all did well. Kevin pushed the game and we executed in key situations,” said shortstop Gabriel Tramble.

“I felt like I did really good. It was my senior day and my last home game of the season at this school. I was just trying to do my best for the team,” said Burt.

This was an important game for CVHS to get into the playoffs.

The Trojans didn’t make it last year, but this year they think they probably will.

“We lost last year and we didn’t make it into playoffs. But this year we beat them,” said Tramble.

Besides playing the games, there are a lot of different aspects to baseball. These include preparing and training. As with anything people have different

Tyler Macias / Staff Writer

Trojan volleyball boys huddle to discuss tactics before the game begins.

Boys volleyball team gets spiked again

By Tyler Macias Staff Writer

Tyler Macias / Staff Writer

Esias Ortiz swings at the ball, aiming to knock the Yellow Jackets out of the park! feelings about preparation.

“A mix of excitement and nervousness,” said Burt.

“Jittery and excited,” said Tramble.

Coach Randy Green has started coaching the CVHS Trojans just this year and things are going much better than before.

Early on in the year, there were a lot more losses than now.

“This is my first year at Castro Valley. This was my first win against Berkeley,” said Green.

“I think as the season is going along we are improving. We’ve cut down our losses. Our record is 15 and 6.”

After the boys volleyball team already lost to Encinal once before, the Trojans knew that they would have to come out on top in the May 1 rematch. When the time was approaching, the Jets were nowhere in sight, leaving people in the stands wondering how long it would take before they arrived, if they arrived.

Fortunately for the families that came out to watch their kids play, the team finally showed.

As the first set took off, Castro Valley came out serving to Encinal, adding on points back to back. In a great competition by both teams, the Trojans were luckily able to put up a great defense and win that set, 25-20.

While switching sides, both teams realized the game had only just begun and anything could happen. With back-to-back hits by both sides, it was obvious that there was no better team, both struggling and trying hard to gain the upper hand. Luckily for the Trojans getting into rhythm, they were able to end the set, 25-21.

“We did good and overall the team did good but we could’ve done better. But I’m still proud,” said Jerrick Gica.

With Encinal in trouble and

losing, the Jets were in a situation where it looked liked it was all over in Trojans victory, but Encinal was able to come off with back-to-back victories, beating the Trojans 25-20 in one match and 25-19 in another, making it all come down to the sudden death. This tied series 2-2 meant whoever scored 15 points in the next set would win it all.

“I think my overall performance was pretty good and there are a lot of first-year players so we are still learning,” said Nick Klunis.

With pressure on both teams to not disappoint their family and fans, they both struggled for the upper hand when all of a sudden, Encinal took control of the game and put several points on the board, making the Trojans put in all they had left. Surprisingly, the Trojans were able to get into a rhythm and score enough points to tie the set, 12-12.

With an unfortunate call by refs making everyone on the Trojans side ‘boo’ and jump out of their seat, making costly mistakes, Encinal was able to clutch in the win and take the victory home.

“We could’ve played better this game but it was a better game we played today than the last time,” said coach Matt Williams.

CVHS badminton beats Berkeley Adrianna Vandiver / Staff Writer

Trojan softball girls show their sportmanship and camaraderie during the game.

Softball squad shows spirit at tough game

By Adrianna Vandiver Staff Writer

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the CVHS varsity girls softball team was down by one against Berkeley with two outs, and one girl on base.

A big hitter on home plate was trying for a home run, with two strikes and two balls. All the pres-

sure was on CVHS. The pitch is thrown by the Yellow Jacket’s pitcher. Trojans slugger Traci Shaw swung and hit the ball! The Yellow Jackets’ shortstop quickly scrambles to catch it and throw it to first base, tagging Shaw out and winning the game.

On May 6, the CVHS girls softball team celebrated senior day for seniors: Baylee Johnson, Tess Palmer and Alison Decker.

The Trojans started out well scoring in the first inning grabbing a run thanks to Maria Orneles, who hit a single, stole second and scored.

However, as the game went on Berkeley scored in both the fourth and fifth innings. Trojans pitcher Leilani Huey pitched a complete game but the Trojans lost. This was the team’s first WACC loss in an otherwise undefeated season.

By Tyler Quan Staff Writer

As people readied themselves in their positions in the gym, the competition began to heat up. Rackets swung wildly, and birdies whizzed by in the air. The CVHS varsity badminton team triumphantly vanquished Berkeley High with a score of 11-4 on Tuesday, April 29.

“We’ve played them earlier in the season,” said coach Teddy Yau. “We beat them pretty single handedly. They were an easy opponent.”

“It was a pretty good game. We both moved a lot and it was a very close match,” agreed sophomore

Terry Kwok.

So far, the team has played 12 out of 13 games in the WACC and has a record of ten wins and two losses.

“We had a pretty good season so far. Our badminton team are balanced in regards to skill level and that is the reason why we are winning,” said Yau. According to the players, they have not played a team that was really challenging yet. The team was determined to win the last game with Arroyo and easily finished off with an 11-2 win.

“We played well and ended our season with a positive note” said sophomore Hana Lui.

The Olympian May 16, 2014

7

Trojan track and field star Nate Moore: jumping his way to the top!

By Stephanie Huerta Feature Editor

Track and field star Nate Moore keeps leaping his way to records in the long jump and the triple jump.

The Trojan who won state championships in both events in 2013 has bested those marks by nearly a foot each in 2014.

Moore, a senior, long jumped 25 feet, ten inches (wind aided) and triple jumped 50 feet, 4.5 inches, the best high school mark in the nation this year.

Moore began to show interest for track and field at age 10. He began his track career in middle school and continued to work through all of high school. Motivated by his drive to be the best he can be, Moore continues to demonstrate his athletic excellence through his record-breaking senior year.

Moore is one of only three CVHS athletes to win a state track and field championship, and this year he could become the first to defend such a title.

Some in his position would feel tremendous pressure, but not Moore.

“If I’m doing something, I want to be able to say I did the best I could and I did everything I could to accomplish my goal,” Moore said. “I like the expectation--I never feel pressured to break a record every time I compete because I set an expectation for myself to just do the best I can.”

Finding support in not only coaches and fellow track athletes, Moore finds his support from his mother, who he says has been his number one fan since day one. With undying

Anna Talajkowski / Business Manager

Andrew Kiland swims to success with a freestyle stroke.

Landslide CVHS swim victory over Berkeley freestyle events. Senior Victor Deng, sophomore Donovan

By Anna Talajkowski Business Manager

Adrianna Vandiver / Staff Writer

Nate Moore, defending state champion, runs during practice. support from his mother and people around him, Moore seems to be an ambitious athlete who keeps striving to do the best he can be and leave track and field enthusiasts in awe of his skills.

“The thing I like most about what I do is the feeling when I jump and hearing the crowd.

They’re getting behind me and getting hyped with me--it’s just such a great feeling. To be able to jump and feel the energy of

people that are amazed at what I do is an amazing feeling,” declares Moore.

After high school, Moore is not planning to end his athletic career. The University of Oregon granted Moore a full ride and Moore plans to major in sports marketing, dreaming of continuing a job related to sports once his track career ends. He aspires to become a recruiter for professional athletes or a manager of a sports team.

Amid cheers and splashes, CVHS swimmers raced past the Berkeley High School Jackets in a stinging victory during the home meet on April 30. Both the girls and boys teams dominated with respective scores of 132-38 and 137-33.

The win only adds to the swimmers’ growing list of achievements; the teams have gone undefeated this year.

Swim coach Brian Berry believes that this year’s success will lead to bigger accomplishments.

“I feel confident we will win the WACC championships again,” said Berry.

Junior Carson Sand finished the meet strong, winning the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke, and may be set to break the league record for both events. Senior Miles Teague and sophomore Brandon Chin also did well in individual

“I feel confident

we will win the WACC championships again.

Brian Berry swim coach

”

Watts, Sand, and Teague might additionally break league records in the 200 and 400 relay events. Sand, Teague, and Deng all made it to the finals of last year’s NCS championships.

Berry feels upbeat about the state of the swim teams and thinks the triumphs have been well deserved.

“Our swimmer have been working very hard. We have a strong team with a lot of depth,” said Berry.

B o u n d i n g B r i l l i a n t Ba l l e r s Adrianna Vandiver/ Staff Writer

Yazmine Romero, freshman

Sylas Agtarap, sophomore

The ball and bat make contact with a sharp crack as freshman Yazmine Romero slams a home run winning the game for her softball team. She plays for both the varsity high school team as well as All American Sports Academy, and has been playing for over nine years.

She began softball simply to test the waters, unknowing she would excel so vastly. Romero’s position is outfield and has played second base in the past.

Romero enjoys “the feeling you have when you get a hit,” she said.

Her favorite memory is when she scored a triple play at the young age of eight.

He catches the ball, tags second, and throws it at home plate, stopping the other team from scoring and achieving a triple play in the process. This is the life of sophomore Sylas Agtarap when he’s out on the baseball field. He plays middle infield now, but has played shortstop, second base, catcher, and outfield in the past.

“Baseball was a sport I enjoyed and excelled in,” Agtarap said.

Agatrap has been playing baseball for 13 years, playing little league until he was 13, then various travel ball teams throughout middle school and high school, and now the junior varsity high school team.

Dane Clemensen, junior Placing number one in high jump in your high school’s track and field league with a jump of 5’10’’ is just another day for junior Dane Clemensen. He has been competing in track since the fourth grade for the Castro Valley Track Club and then for the high school team.

“I started because both my parents used to do track... I’m still doing it because it’s really fun and it’s also a great way to stay in shape,” Clemensen said.

His favorite event is high jump, but he also competes in long jump, triple jump, and the 100 meter sprint. He hopes to compete at a university on scholarship in the future.

Kate Miller, senior

By the age of six, Kate Miller had already begun her career in swimming and still continues today. She is on the high school varsity team and her year round team, the East Bay Bat Rays.

Her favorite swim is the 500 freestyle, and one of her favorite memories was the last home meet because it was the last time seniors would race in their home pool.

“The team aspect is the best part.

I have met so many of my best friends through swimming and have had great coaches on both my competitive and high school teams,” Miller said.

After she graduates she plans to continue swimming club during college.

The Olympian May 16, 2014

Female students underrepresented in AP STEM subjects

8

Students smoke out illegal tobacco sellers

By Robbie Brandt Staff Writer

By Anna Nguyen Staff Writer

Stepping into an AP class would be difficult for anyone.

The prospect of college level material is enough to instigate fear from miles away, but the number of student enrolling in these classes have exponentially grown, as more individuals challenge themselves at the highest level.

But as some classes have experience an increase of interest, many advanced math and science classes still face the ongoing issue of closing gender gaps, particularly in getting more females attracted to more difficult subjects. Walking into the average CVHS AP Computer Science classroom, one may only find 9 girls among their 34 male counterparts.

It is constantly told that the future lies in technology. With society becoming increasingly reliant on the innovations of the Silicon Valley, the demand for employees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have skyrocketed.

Yet, despite the promises of increased growth, there has been close to no change of female employment in these fields since 2000. While women make up nearly half of the United States workforce, they represent less than a quarter of those employed in STEM fields.

As a working woman in the engineering field, chemistry teacher Deborah Yager had

faced this issue on a daily basis. Yager was the first female recipient of a Bioengineering PhD from the University of California, San Diego, and recalls the difficulties she faced breaking the gender barrier.

“Women still struggle socially in an environment with all men, who are unable to relate,” said Yager. “It just becomes very lonely.”

Within the fields of math and science, there exists an even larger gender disparity when examining specific occupations. According to a report by the American Association of University Women, women have typically dominated the “soft science” of biology, but only make up 27.5 percent of computer scientists, 13.1 percent of chemical engineers, and 6.7 percent of mechanical engineers.

“There are more women entering STEM, that are successful in both industrial and academia, but it’s just hard in general,” said Yager, ”especially in math, computer science, and physics.”

Math teacher Dianne Fletcher shares similar experiences in her own work.

“When I was working in physics, it was hard being female,” said Fletcher. “They didn’t take me or my work very seriously.”

As a computer science major at University of California, Berkeley, Fletcher’s daughter faced even more hardships in her college years.

“For her, it was pretty awful

being female,” Fletcher said.

“Professors ridiculed females, and a lot of the guys were doing the same.”

These extreme gender stereotypes in STEM subjects takes root many years prior to entering the professional world, and is reflected in the student enrollment of various math and science classes. At CVHS, males have continued to dominate the math and science departments, outnumbering females in nearly every STEM honors or AP course.

“There are more boys in these advanced classes just because fewer girls chose to take them,” said junior Will Fong.

“As each individual person decided on their classes, it ended up with more guys choosing them than girls.”

This trend continues nationwide, as shown through demographic information of 2013 AP testing, released by the College Board. For every one girl, there were about 4.5 more boys who tested for Computer Science, 3.5 for Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism, 2 for Physics B, and 1.5 in Calculus BC. According to demographics released at the start of the school year, CVHS sees a similar gap between male and female enrollment in STEM subjects. Males outnumber females 1.55:1 in AP Calculus AB, 1.2:1 in AP Calculus BC, 2.29:1 in AP Chemistry, and 3.67:1 in AP Computer Science.

In other words, some AP math and science classes have almost four boys to every girl.

The students did not like the test and said it was easy for the most part. What they struggled with was the coffee cup activity with the fountain which is the math portion. History teachers tried to prepare them for the test by mentioning the fountain in class but it seemed to not help much. Since the SBAC was just a trial run this time, no one will be getting their results back on how

they did.

“I thought the math section of the SBAC was a little difficult at first but then I got the hang of it.

The English portion was fairly easy. Overall, the test was okay,” said Asmin Deo, a junior who took the field test.

Even though the kids didn’t seem to enjoy taking the test, the teachers and administration seem to be very pleased with it.

SBAC finds support among staff SBAC: from page 1

In total, there are usually close to over 2,500 test booklets we have to keep track of and accounted for and with the SBAC the students just complete it online. It takes out a lot of prep work for the staff and saves time on pre-administration duties,” said Assistant Principal Matt Steinecke.

Sophomore Nancy Nguyen has experienced this gender divide firsthand, being one of the only girls in her AP Calculus AB class.

“I think that there should be more girls that enroll in these AP math and science classes,” said Nguyen. “If more girls go into these subjects, we would not be seen as inferior.”

A large factor in this great disparity is gender roles that have implemented from childhood. The humanities (English, literature, social sciences) are considered to be feminine, while STEM subjects (chemistry, physics, calculus) are geared towards boys.

“There’s also that stereotype that ‘being dumb is cute,’ which might discourage girls from enrolling in high level math or science classes,” said sophomore Brandon Yap. However, females at CVHS have had an increasing presence in certain STEM subjects, starting with those that have been deemed the “easy APs.” Girls make up a majority of students enrolled in AP Statistics, AP Biology, and AP Environmental science.

As one of the world’s leader in technology, the United States will continue to hold much influence in the scientific world.

Yet, little advancement can be made with the exclusion of an entire gender.

As Fletcher said, “The system itself won’t really change until women push. Men won’t be willing to give up their power.”

Yes, it is true that some business owners have been selling cigarettes and other tobacco products to minors. In order to stop these crimes, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department has started using “decoys.”

The decoys are CVHS teenagers who work with Sheriff’s Department and go around to stores to see if cashiers will sell them tobacco products. These operations can take up to five hours and as many as 54 stores can be hit in one day.

The way this works is that a police officer gives a decoy $20 dollars, then the teen walks into a store and asks for a tobacco product, such as Camel Blue or Swisher Sweet. Then if the decoy gets a sale, the teen gives the officer the product and the officer gives the store owner a citation. The officers will send different decoys to the same store a few months later to see if the store continues to sell to minors.

One experienced decoy is known as “The Veteran,” who chooses to remain anonymous.

When asked about a memorable moment, he recalled this interesting episode: “Another decoy and I once went into a hookah lounge and we were not asked for IDs and we were not asked what our age was, and then 45 minutes later when they handed us a hookah, the officers walked in and gave the owners a citation,” she said.

Why do the decoys do what they do? “I wanted to do something different than the other types of community service; this way, you expose yourself for a cause. Some people may think I am a snitch, but I want to show kids why they should not smoke,” The Veteran said.

“We need youths to be recruited and help join our cause,” said Traci Cross, the decoy program coordinator.

Hopefully these operations reduce underage tobacco sales.

If people are interested in helping out, it’s free and anyone can join. If you are interested in joining, please email Cross at tcross@cv.k12.ca.us.