Oct 30, 2009

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Teachers flaunt their artistic talent

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Yearly exhibition in CFA

CVHS grad charged after fatal accident

Homecoming Trojans battle takes center but fall short stage again Best pictures of 2009

By Nic Barradas Staff Writer

News Editor

Joseph Wan/ Editor-in-Chief

Despite the efforts of Mario, played by junior Spencer Arnold, seniors won the Homecoming contest.

ADAMS: Page 12

New cross-dressing rule added to dress code

By Kate Kim Staff Writer

Cross-dressing, or dressing in clothing typically worn by members of the opposite sex, has been involved in CVHS activities for many years. But it wasn’t until this year that cross-dressing became prohibited in school activities.

A new rule at CVHS forbids students from cross-dressing for school events. According to Assistant Principal Sue Goldman, this topic has been brought up several times by the teachers and counselors, but was specifically brought up during the leadership council meeting over the summer.

There were teachers and counselors who found the idea of students cross-dressing a negative aspect of Homecoming.

Reportedly, students went to counselors claiming they didn’t

Football team’s disappointing loss

If it weren’t for those New vandalism stirs up old rivalries during meddling seniors Homcoming

By Alexandra Gomes

One year after a high-speed collision claimed the lives of Sarah Streicher and Clark Wright, prosecutors charged another Castro Valley teenager involved in the accident.

Kyle Adams, 19, faces up to 12 years in prison for two counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Alameda County prosecutors also charged Adams with engaging in a speed contest.

Before the accident in the early hours of Aug. 12, 2008, Adams and Wright had arranged for a race on Dublin Canyon Road, which runs right beside Highway 580, according to a California Highway Patrol report.

Adams, driving a BMW, and Wright, driving a 1997 Corvette, raced eastbound on the road at “triple digit speeds,” according to Adams’ statement to the CHP. Streicher got into Wright’s Corvette as a passenger before the group returned westbound towards Castro Valley.

Adams was driving “55-65 mph” when he “revved it a little” and accelerated, he told the CHP. Then Wright accelerated, trying to pass the BMW “in excess of 100 mph,” Adams said.

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want to participate during Homecoming because of crossdressing. Goldman explains that these students do not like the idea of “one gender making fun of another gender.”

“It was getting to the point where a lot of staff members and some students felt as if it was disrespectful on a lot of levels-to women, to transgender folks, to a variety of different groups.

They felt it was something that didn’t belong in school,” said Principal Pete Alvarez.

School officials are not trying to prohibit a real cross-dresser from cross-dressing, Goldman said.

“Cross-dressing is totally fine.

[The rule] is about boys dressing up as girls and sexualizing them,” said Goldman, who does not intend to discrimi-

CROSS: Page 12

A rash of Homecoming vandalism led to the suspension of at least 20 students, according to students involved in the incidents, though the number of behavior problems improved compared to a year ago.

The first incident occurred late in the night of Sunday, Oct. 11, when sheriff’s officers stopped one car of seniors driving away from the home of junior Mary Lassalle.

“Lots of food was thrown at the house, like sardines, barbecue sauce, Cheetos, shaving cream, fire extinguisher spray, and more stuff than I can even remember,” said Lassalle. “Cords on my security cameras were cut.”

The officers made the seniors in the car and other seniors involved come back and clean up the mess.

CVHS officials suspended 15 seniors connected to the incident, said Lassalle and one senior girl who was involved. Some seniors showed their disapproval of the suspensions by carrying “Free the Seniors” signs during the Homecoming march on Thursday.

A smaller incident occurred on the night of Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the home of senior Anastassia Kokezas.

“Five junior girls came to my house and covered not only my car but my mom’s new car in shaving cream,” she said.

“Mine also got Cheetos and toilet paper on top of the shaving cream, and spaghetti sauce was poured all over my porch and grass. All my trees were covered in toilet paper.”

Security cameras in the neighborhoods’ homes captured the faces of the five junior girls, said Kokezas, whose family called the authorities.

Kokezas felt the vandalism was “revenge” for the Sunday event.

“I understand it’s Homecoming and all, and all this has been going on for quite some time, but I feel we need to know our limits,” said Kokezas. “When you involve parents’ cars and the house, I feel it’s going too far. Why didn’t they learn from the 15 seniors getting suspended?”

CVHS officials suspended five junior girls connected to the incident, officials said.

Even if 20 suspensions sounds like a record, there’s no need to celebrate. Many members of the administration say that this year has been an

VANDALS: Page 12

Dance policy cools off freaking

By Brandon Lui Copy Editor

This year ’s Homecoming dance was the first dance with a new policy enforced by the administration. This new dance policy is a response to an increase in lewd dancing or “freaking.”

With this new policy, student will be given a wristband at the dance. If staff members find students dancing inappropriately, they will take the students aside, explain why they pulled them off the dance floor, and cut off their wristbands. The students will still be allowed back into the dance without the wristbands. However, if the students are pulled aside again without wristbands, the staff members will contact parents and kick the students out of the dance.

“I’m thinking they [the stu-

DANCE: Page 12

Brandon Lui / Copy Editor

A group of girls show their moves at the Homecoming dance on Oct. 17.

Administration's new dance policy not truly effective

Editorial: As the school year is off to a fast-paced start, the excitement of dances and formals are blurred by dissatisfaction with new and rather vague rules.

In effect as of the most recent dance, the administration is enforcing a stricter, less-defined policy that raises many questions, concerns, and arguments.

With this new dance policy, students are to receive a wristband upon entering the dance. If the students are caught dancing “inappropriately” they will have their wristbands removed and will receive a stern warning. A second offense will result in the students’ removal from the dance, a loss of privilege to attend any of the remaining dances for the year, as well as a mandatory call to their parent or guardian. They must then be picked up by their parents.

We at The Olympian, find this new policy to be both excessive and inadequate.

We can all agree that we don’t need to see people practically having sex while clothed on the dance floor, but a little harmless gyrating and getting low never hurt anybody, and is certainly not grounds for the loss of all dance privileges and a call home. We are in high school (a

public school at that) and with many of us nearly 18 it seems over the top and unnecessary.

Rather than calling home and depriving us of our dance privileges, supervisors should dole out a series of three warnings at most and just send the student home if the problem persists.

Besides the obviously overthe-top aspect, the new guidelines are rather misguiding.

The administration refers to “inappropriate dancing” as “freak dancing” or “gyrating.”

So does this mean that freak dancing of any kind, whether “standing back to front, rubbing against one another and simulating sexual behavior,” or a little innocent bump and grind is a violation of the policy?

The administration does little to elaborate on the boundaries of the policy, and with the lines so undefined, we at The Olympian

believe that this leaves much room to discriminate.

Who determines what is inappropriate and what is tolerated? Staff members will be free to decide how, and who.

This year ’s Homecoming dance was the CVHS administration’s first opportunity to implement the new not-so-improved dance policy. There appeared to be little change from past dances with the usual healthy amount of “freakers,” and what seemed to be few or no phone calls home.

PHOTOpinions BY: Jose Luna

What do you think of the new dance policy?

“They should allow it because it has never been a problem until now.”

Freshman Victor Hernandez-Vega

“It's more strict than what we've seen. There has been a lot of inapropriate dancing, so I do see why it's necessary.”

Sophomore Sam Ison

“They should let students dance freely.”

Junior Carina Elenes

“I don't like it because dancing is fun.”

Senior Kelsey Gonzales

Igor breyman / Staff Writer

Violence is not the answer

By Nic Barradas

Staff Writer I had just finished putting books in my locker during break when I walked into the courtyard. There was a huge, ominous circle that seemed to contain the whole school in what anyone could identify as a fight. I jumped on a bench and asked everyone the obvious questions: who, what, why? No one seemed to know. They just kept their eyes locked on the center of the circle as the two girls were pulled apart and handcuffed.

As I walked away, still searching for answers, I looked down and saw clumps of hair. It was obvious this would be the topic whispered about in every single class around the school. We have fights so often at school they almost seem mundane. Why do these fights occur so often? When you walk into an adult environment like an office, the last thing you would expect to see is a fight. So what sets our school apart from that adult environment? Is it immaturity, or a lack

of tolerance, or both?

With so much to be stressed and to be worried about, these fights aren’t just random. We have to focus on school and our social lives.

That balance is so often strained the line is often blurred. We try to balance our girlfriends and boyfriends while focusing on school and homework. Throw in friends, rivals, bullies and you have the proper setting for kids to just lose it. Keep in mind that I haven’t even mentioned what could be going on at home. Trying to keep this all balanced can be so intense; it makes it easy to lose control, especially at our age. Learning to deal with people is the most basic thing that we, as young adults, need to learn.

Close your eyes. Imagine 100 people. Are any of them exactly like you? In everyday life, we will never encounter someone just like ourselves; we are individuals and different. With so many different people we need to learn tolerance and respect. Tolerance is the acceptance of who people are and what they stand for. We need to learn to respect these differences and embrace them. Respect that everyone is different and that is one of the most amazing parts of life.

In a recent survey that I found at www.keepschoolssafe.org, it stated that younger teens are much more likely to fight than older teens.

Furthermore, “Over 40 percent of ninth graders said that they had been in a fight over the past year, while only 30 percent of twelfth graders said the same.” This clearly emphasizes the fact that with time, we learn more about tolerance and our maturity gives us the ability to cope with other people. In laymens’ terms, the immaturity of freshmen causes more fights in comparison to the older seniors who have learned from experience that fighting isn’t the best solution.

Is there hope for us at CVHS? Will we continue to see fights run rampant throughout the school year? The answer is up to every single one of us. Resist that urge to run and join the fight circle.

When you get upset, don’t clench your fist and swing. Remember, we are at school to learn. Use your brain and think it through first. I wonder how many fights you will stop this week.

Close your eyes one more time.

Imagine that for one single day, everyone at CVHS went out of their way to do simple acts of kindness like holding open the door, avoiding running into people in our crowded hallways, or just saying God-bless-you. The only fight that would happen on this imaginary day would be about who went through that door first.

The Olympian is a publication of the journalism class at Castro Valley High School, 19400 Santa Maria Ave., Castro Valley, CA 94546. © 2009 Editors-In-Chief...............................................................Irene Liang Joseph Wan City Editor.......................................................................Erin Mundy News Editor...........................................................Alexandra Gomes Opinion Editor..............................................................Alicia Harger 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, Georgina Sousa Advisor........................................................................Matt Johanson

American culture: a great melting pot

Tensions in Egypt force families to leave

By Wessam Aziz Staff Writer

When I first moved to the states from my great country Egypt, I was often asked, “Why did you move here?” Egypt is a really nice place that has its special place in my heart. For me it isn’t just a country. It is my home, my family, my friends, my childhood, my memories, the holy land that protected baby Jesus, the pharaohs, the history, etc.

Unfortunately, my family and I, as well as other Christian Egyptians had to make the hard, heartbreaking decision of leaving the country because we weren’t safe in our own country as Christian Egyptians and grandchildren of the pharaohs.

Egypt, one of the countries with the oldest cultures in the world, started as a country ruled by pharaohs thousands of years before Christ. Then as Christ was born and Christianity emerged, Saint Mark managed to preach in Alexandria, a big city in Egypt, and he managed to convert a lot of people to Christianity.

Eventually Christian kings ruled Egypt. It stayed like that for a while before Islam emerged and took over the country.

That wasn’t a bad thing in general. Muslims are really religious people who try to lead righteous lives in order to go to heaven. But for some reason there was always tension between Christians and Muslims. Many Muslim extremists always hated Christians and tried to attack them to make their lives harder one way or the other.

Christians are a minority in Egypt. Egypt is mostly populated and ruled by Muslims like all the other Middle Eastern countries. As a minority, we Christian Egyptians are not treated equally. For instance, it takes much longer and more work for Christians to buy the land, get the paper work approved by the government, and a find a company to build a church.

If you are a Christian kid in Egypt, then you will probably get in a couple of fights just because you are Christian. Some teachers won’t necessarily like you even if you were an “A” student and I am saying all of the above from my personal experience.

Every once in a while a church is burglarized or set on fire. Some Muslim extremists go out on the streets and beat up all the Christians they can see and then burn every store owned by Christians. Even more shocking, all of this happens and the police do absolutely nothing to stop it.

I can’t say that all Muslims hate Christians. A lot of Muslims stand up for their Christian friends against their fellow Muslims when Christians are attacked. I remember that my friends back in Egypt were mostly Muslims and I never felt they hated me. The fair thing to say is that the unfriendly Muslims are really active these days and the government needs to do something about it before it is too late.

As my family moved to Castro Valley it was a little hard for us to adapt to our new lives at the beginning. We didn’t know much English, my parents couldn’t find jobs because we came in a time of economic crisis, and all the money that my parents saved up when converted from pounds to dollars really shrank.

Things are better now, but still, there is no place like home.

Nick Leonardo / Staff Writer

Beneath differences we are all the same

By Yoon Jung

Staff Writer I came from Korea a year and a half ago. That made my life in Castro Valley High School a little bit different than others, and I am not the only one.

Believe it or not, there are many English learners in our school.

You might think it is not that hard, but the truth is it is that hard.

As students we struggle with homework, tests, friends, and schedules we have to follow.

We, the English learners, are having more struggles than the usual teenagers.

First, just imagine moving your family into another country that speaks another language. You cannot bring many family members or best friends or any other things that you might want. Yes, it can be exciting for the new environment, cultures, and fun things. But to be honest, it doesn’t take many days to realize that no matter how much better that place is than where you are from, you miss your homeland.

I do not mean to say it happens to all immigrant families, but some tough situations you did not know of can happen to your friends as well.

I have been studying English since before I moved to America, and it helped me in learning and enjoying it with friends who I met in English-learning classes. But when I was in those classes, it was hard to meet friends who were American.

I love my friends and sharing our stories from different countries, but I needed to hear what American lives are like and to talk with them.

Even though I had a few regular classes like math and physical education, it was hard to join people who had already bonded with one another as well.

Learning English can bring people to face challenges, trivial or big, every day. It can be emotionally difficult and it can feel unfair. Nevertheless, it is my goal to be successful and to find happiness.

I found that we have not only differences, but also so many similarities with each other, no matter where we came from. After all, we are all humans, teenagers and students at Castro Valley High School, and we all have the same dreams.

Igor Breyman / Staff Writer

Varsity sports should excuse students from PE

By Georgina Sousa

Staff Writer Another day of P.E. playing hockey, when “Wham!” I get hit with the hockey stick on my shin. I bite my lip because

the pain is excruciating. “Now I won’t be able to cheer today,” I think.

I leave the locker room when I notice I have a bruise, great.

I got to cheer and everyone asks what happened. I have to explain my painful and embarrassing story to them of how I got hit with a hockey stick.

“You shouldn’t have to do P.E.,” my friend tells me when she sees the massive black and

blue bruise. “You are in an intensive sport and practice all the time. The last thing you should do is have to do P.E.” She’s right, I thought. I shouldn’t have to.

Athletes used to have the privilege of not having to do P.E. That was until a new rule came out stating that your coach has to be a qualified P.E. teacher to let you earn P.E. credit through athletics.

Now you must be thinking, we have teachers teaching sports, why don’t those athletes have P.E. off? Well it is because it’s not fair for one sports team to get P.E. off and another that doesn’t.

Since not every coach is a credentialed teacher, we should start hiring P.E. teachers as coaches of teams. Even if they don’t work at our school, we can ask P.E. teachers who work

near and around our school to be coaches.

If that does not work, we could ask the coaches to take a required test that would make them qualified. The test would cover every crucial subject they need to know to become credentialed.

But until that day comes, athletes will just have to keep taking P.E. until they fulfill the two-year requirement for P.E.

Music to my ears, even during class

By Jose Luna staff writer

Every day I find myself more and more easily distracted from my work; it seems like every little thing gets my attention these days. I’ve always wondered why this could be, until I realized that I need something in my ear so I could concentrate better on my assignments, and work efficiently during the school hours.

Throughout all my years in school, all my teachers have always been pretty strict about iPods and mp3 players. Every time they see one out, or just a simple headphone, they want to take it away or tell the student to put it away.

What the teachers don’t real-

ize about some of the students is that they are able to work more efficiently with music in their ears. I know the teachers might be insecure about letting them listen to music, but as long as they only have one headphone in, and it’s not bothering anyone, I believe it’s perfectly fine.

During my freshman year, when I had really long hair, I used to listen to music in every class without teachers noticing (it’s a secret, don’t tell).

But during that time, I only listened to it with one headphone in. I knew it was wrong, but I was able to concentrate way better, and my work was outstanding.

This might also be a bad idea, because since there are people that do better with music in their ears, there are also people that will do worse with it. Some people might just slack off and listen to music during the class session, or maybe try to fall asleep.

In the end, I don’t really think it would be a great idea when thought through thoroughly, but I know I work better with music.

Athletes need to pay up

By Nick Leonardo staff writer

I was well into my fourth week of cross country practices when it dawned on me that athletes on my team had not been forced to pay the new high school athletic fee.

Going back to last year, my family and I had been informed that all athletes were going to be charged $150 to play their sports. We accepted, keeping in mind that the other option could have done away with sports all together because of state and district budget cuts.

At registration we reluctantly filled out the form, including the check, which finalized the first time ever we’ve had to pay for school sports in my 11 years of school.

I’m beginning to think, however, that not all athletes and their families have experienced that first-hand like myself and mine. Asking around before a Monday afternoon practice, I learned that some athletes just

didn’t pay and that legally they didn’t have to.

According to school officials and cross country coach Dino Cardiasmenos, the school decided not to charge fees and instead requested voluntary donations from athletes’ families.

With all the budget cuts, I have to ask exactly who is paying for the athletic programs if all the athletes aren’t donating?

In my opinion, a fee should be required. If you don’t pay, you can’t play. I understand that some families simply can’t afford it.

That’s why I’m suggesting a scholarship program where athletes would do community service work for Castro Valley and/or for the high school.

With California schools in the state they’re in, we had better hope that the suggested donations were paid. Otherwise, who knows what kinds of cuts will be unleashed on our school?

Nothing is certain right now and as an athlete I’m holding my breath. The cuts being contemplated behind district and state scenes can’t be good news.

These donations need to be fees, and they need to be required for everyone’s sake.

Listen to the wisdom of the aged

By Amanda Chouinard Staff Writer

My father and I were having lunch in a restaurant in the Gold Country town of Sonora this past April. We were in the middle of critiquing the electrical fixtures in the restaurant when we both heard a clink, and we turned our heads to the table next to us.

Sitting next to us all by his lonesome was an elderly gentleman. The waitress had just brought him his lunch, a tasty looking burger with fries. My dad and I were watching this guy cut his hamburger in half

with his trembling hands. He was having real problems, so the waitress came over and cut it in half for him.

He then turned his attention to us. He asked us if we went to the parade that morning. My dad replied, “No we didn’t, was it a good one?” He said he hadn’t gone to it either, that this was the first time he had been out of his house in awhile.

“Oh, why is that?” I asked. He told us that his wife of 50 years had recently passed away. “It is just so hard not having her around anymore,” he said.

He then asked if I was my dad’s wife and my dad said, “Oh no, she’s my daughter!”

"Well I thought she looked a little young for you,” he replied jokingly.

The elderly are an interesting group; they have so much history to tell us, and they can be

tremendously funny. If we are a little patient with them, we can hear their stories and the advice these stories hold.

Visiting my relatives is always a fun time because they do some hilarious things, but I can’t help but feel that these are an extremely vulnerable group of people who deserve dignity and our respect.

They were young once too, though it may be hard to imagine. It may be even harder to imagine that we will one day be in their place.

So if you ever have the opportunity to talk to your elderly relatives, don’t pass it up. If you ever walk by an assisted living home and you see all the old folks sitting in the window watching you walk by, just wave, because it will brighten up their day a little, and perhaps yours as well.

Bipolar weather drives students and teachers crazy

By Melissa Lau Staff Writer

“It’s so hot, I’m practically dying… The heat is making me sleepy… This room’s so stuffy, and everyone’s smelly… Oh joy.”

You get the point. In a hot stuffy room, no one’s happy. I mean, who would be? No one likes feeling gross and sweaty.

I think most people would agree that it’s hard to learn in a hot, uncomfortable environ-

ment.

When it’s hot, the older parts of the campus burn up too, such as the old gym and the halls without air conditioning.

Lucky for some people, they have classes with air conditioning during the end of the school day. Unfortunately, more than half of the student body suffers in hot, stuffy classrooms.

The weather has definitely been acting bipolar. There has been rain in the summer, and it has felt like summer when it was supposed to be winter.

When the weather is cool, every hall can manage. You could put on more clothes to warm yourself up. However in summer, what are you supposed to do?

You can’t take off clothes; that’s

just a big thumbs down.

This simple problem has many solutions. One solution, that is probably the best solution, is getting air conditioning in every hall, so that no student or staff member will suffer. This solution sounds simple, but it costs a lot. To solve the money issue, the school can have fundraising events to raise money for air conditioning, like car washes, and concerts, or just have people donate money to the school. That way, everyone’s more comfortable when the temperature goes up to tripledigits.

School should not only be a safe learning environment, but also a comfortable one.

Cross dressing rule violates 14th Amendment

By Irene Liang

Editor-in-Chief Despite the intensity of the class rivalries, Homecoming is meant to be a week of activities that unites the school for one week. It is when classes get together and show their school spirit in the name of competition. But when I found out that cross-dressing wasn’t allowed during Homecoming week, I was shocked and indignant.

The idea of not permitting cross-dressing is one thing, but to ban it brings the issue to another level.

This new rule was implemented after a number of individuals expressed how uncomfortable they were with males dressing as females and

vice versa. I understand that creating a safe and comfortable environment for all students is a necessity. Everyone deserves to be treated equally and feel safe in a learning environment.

But to say that cross-dressing is not appropriate during Homecoming week doesn’t unite the school because it is unconstitutional and a violation of one’s freedoms.

The Equal Protection Clause, which is part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, states that, “No state… shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This clause was written to protect people from any discriminatory action and to secure the idea that “all men are created equal.” It protects people’s civil liberties and personal freedoms. It allows opportunities to be made available to everyone regardless of who you are and the way you choose to live your life.

To not permit cross-dressing

is banning a form of self-expression. It also implies that the culture and way of life of cross-dressers are not appropriate. This violates the Equal Protection Clause because those who do cross-dress are not being allowed to do so.

It is restricting them from expressing themselves and their way of life during a week that is meant to bring all students together.

If a guy chooses to wear a tutu or boa during Homecoming, then he should be allowed to. It is his individual choice and personal freedom to do so.

Times have considerably changed. Society has become more open towards change than in the past. Women have more garment options than just simply dresses and skirts.

Men can feel free to dress like women if they please. Both women and men can choose what they want to wear. It is freedom of expression and that right should not be revoked.

Japanese class goes to the real Japantown

By Yoon Jung Staff Writer

Fourteen students in the Japanese class visited Japan from July 3 to July 15 with their teacher, Emi Crow. The students had an awesome time experiencing the Japanese culture.

They went Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Toukushima in Japan and saw the differences between Japan and America.

Crow wanted the students to see modern Japanese culture while learning the Japanese language. They went to an atomic bomb museum and learned about Japanese historical events.

In Japan, groups had to take public transportation to save on their budget. On the way to the transportation stops, they had to walk a lot more than usual, but no one complained about the long distances.

The thing that most shocked the students was the clean streets that did not have any trash cans.

Since the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, when a bomb hidden in a trash can exploded and hurt

many people around, the government took every trash can away from the streets. So now it’s the people’s duty to throw their garbage at home.

Unfortunately, because of the swine flu, the students could not stay with host families. Instead, they had to stay in a lodge. Crow and her students returned safely to Castro Valley.

The most fun part was visiting high school students in Japan. It was a lot more interesting for students to see other students’ lives and their schools in a different country.

“Tokushima was the most fun city that we went to. Japanese people were very nice to us and they all seemed like they are happy with their jobs in Japan,” said junior Jeff Choi.

Another trip will be planned for 2011 for the Japanese class students who want to learn more than just a language.

“I am glad that students had a great time and got to under-

stand the Japanese culture,” said Crow.

Have no fear, Pancratics is here

By Simrit Kaur Staff Writer

Do you need help with homework? Do you have a panic attack every time your teacher hands out a test?

Pancratics is a new tutoring club that will offer CVHS students the assistance they need in subjects such as math, science, and foreign language.

Tutoring will be offered in a wide variety of subjects, from Algebra 1 to AP Calculus, Biology to Anatomy/Physiology, and also Spanish 1-3, German 1-2, and American Sign Language 1-4.

“For now, there are private tutoring sessions with your tutor, but hopefully we will have a more permanent place, preferably in the new library,” said co-president Bright Zhou.

Tutoring sessions will be held in the CVHS library on Tuesdays and Fridays after school until 4:30 and possibly on the weekends for two hours once the new Castro Valley Public Library opens.

There is no fee to be a member of this club, although donations

are welcome to help pay for supplies and food during finals week.

“What makes this club stand out from other tutoring clubs is that we offer college visits,” commented club advisor and sophomore house counselor Duane Magno. Pancratics will offer opportunities for students to visit nearby colleges such as Stanford or UC Berkeley to help them narrow down their college choices.

Students can volunteer to become tutors by sending an email to pancratics@gmail.com and include information about their grade level, a short paragraph about themselves (hobbies, sports, etc.), and an attached report card/transcript.

Students who would like to experience one-on-one tutoring sessions should complete an application that can be found in Magno’s office or online at http://pancratics.blogspot.com.

Applications can be turned into co-presidents Zhou and Dana Lin, vice-president Brian Zhang, or advisor Magno.

Staff members show artistic abilities

feel,” said photography teacher Stephen Babuljak about the Staff Writer difference between photography and painting.

For most people, the word He went on about how “art” stirs up images of paintpainters can take what they ings, sculptures, and photowant and make it beautigraphs. Although those meful, but photographers diums are art, every must find what’s beauperson in the world is tiful. an artist in his or her Among the paintown way, whether ings at the art show, it be through music, art teacher Jo Sutton’s through acting, or painting stood out. through living and Titled Repeat, it was believing. a dark heavy paintThe faculty art ing filled with what show, presented in seemed to be swirls the Center for the that could be interpretArts where many staff ed as smoke, but in fact members showed the revealed hidden faces public what kinds of within the painting. artists they are, ended “After the third time on Oct. 15.

I’ve seen it, I’ve finally The degree of crenoticed the hidden facativity and skill that es,” said Babuljak in rethe faculty had at the sponse to the painting. common artistic mediArt teacher Jennifer ums was remarkable.

Jervis added that many Art teachers participated along with lanIgor Breyman / Staff Writer of the paintings had a guage teachers, ad- A black widow crawls on a heart in a sculpture by “delicious color.”

Although this art ministration staff, and Jennifer Jervis, yearbook and ceramics teacher. show is over for now, resource teachers. the art pieces presented in it Every painting, picture, or ness locked on a toddlers’ face. piece had its own story or mes“As a photographer I’m envi- will never be forgotten and sage. Several paintings took ous of painters because they can will most definitely be premundane objects and concepts do what they want and what they sented again at a later date.

By Igor Breyman

and showed the hidden beauties in them. These included furniture, cocktails, wires, and expressions.

Every painting had its own mood, whether it was the tragedy of an unrequited love filled with hidden silhouettes, or the happi-

Fresh

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Homecomi Sophomores

Seni or s

ing 2009 Juniors

Photos By: Howard Whang Joseph Wan Lindsay Oda Erin Mundy Center Graphic By: Dana Lin

Entertainment Calendar MusicNov. 3: Shwayze- Let it Beat Nov. 3: Carrie Underwood- Play On Nov. 10: Bon Jovi- The Circle Nov. 10: Switchfoot- Hello Hurricane Nov. 10: Dashboard ConfessionalAfter the Ending Nov. 17: John Mayer- Battle Studies MoviesNov. 6: Disney’s A Christmas Carol Nov. 13: 2012 Nov. 20: New Moon Nov. 20: Planet 51 Video GamesNov. 3: Band Hero (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360), $60 Nov. 24: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3, Xbox 360), $60 Nov. 10: SingStar Motown (PS2), $25 Nov. 27: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (Wii), $50 BooksNov. 10: Peter Lerangis- Wtf, $9 Nov. 10: Neal Shusterman- Downsiders, $9 Nov. 10: Julie Hearn- Hazel, $18 ConcertsNov. 3: Rob Zombie, SJSU Event Center, $35.50 Nov. 7: R. Kelly, Paramount Theatre, $51.50-$97 Nov 8: Saosin, Fillmore, $17.50 Nov. 11: All Time Low & We the Kings & Hey Monday, Grand Ballroom, $18.49 Nov 13: This Providence & Cartel, Slims, $16-$18 Nov 14: Billy Joel & Elton John, Oracle Arena, $51.50-$177

Surrogates fails to impress

By Melissa Lau Staff Writer

What would happen if we used robots to live our lives, if we were ensured complete safety and total beauty? What would you say if you could live solely by thinking with a robot that did your dirty work for you? What extremes would you experience if you knew that your robot could get blown to bits, and you would still live untouched? But what would happen if using a surrogate robot meant risking your life and causing the first homicide in 15 years?

Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis as FBI agent Tom Greer, tells the science-fiction story of a future when every human being lives the life he or she has always dreamt of from the comfort and safety of home.

Greer stumbles upon a flaw in the surrogate system, which is serious enough to ultimately wipe out the entire world.

When his personal surrogate is blown away, and he is suspended from his duty as police, Greer faces the struggles and

disadvantages of being human and going against almost indestructible nonhumans.

An interesting background is essential to a thrilling, eyecatching movie, but it is also essential to have an unpredictable solution to the conflict, which is definitely one thing that Surrogates lacks. The beginning of the movie is interesting and makes you think about technology we will soon have at our fingertips, but the more you watch it, the more predictable and less action-filled it gets. A story like Surrogates should be packed with more action-filled or tearjerking moments to color the movie with more emotions and, ultimately, more excitement.

Personally, the movie was too shallow and dry in my opinion, knocking off a point or so. The lack of action in the movie knocked off the other point.

Most movies tend to make the FBI agents look really professional; they’d have the wits and the brains to outsmart the enemy, but Surrogates fails to do that. In fact, Surrogates makes it look like FBI agents are slow and dumb. The only big action scene in the movie was not impressive at all.

Surrogates has the potential to be a deep movie that could have much meaning, but it fails to be so. I watched Surrogates with my friend, who cries in every known movie, but when it came to Surrogates, she didn’t cry at all. And everyone knows that a good movie needs a touch of sad sprinkles.

Inglourious Basterds absolutely astonishing

By Nic Barradas Staff Writer

Inglourious Basterds, directed by Quentin Tarantino, was one of the

best films this summer. Tarantino shows a lot of aspects in movies, so much that it is hard for viewers to not find something for them. The movie is focused on Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt, hick accent in full boom) and his ragtag group of soldiers with the mission of getting revenge, cutting up Nazis, taking scalps, and humiliating any survivors.

One of the most memorable scenes in the whole movie was when Lt. Aldo Raine and the “basterds” ambushed a group of Nazi soldiers. The scene shows Pitt mocking all the Nazis and getting them to tell where other

German Patrols are. When the basterds kill their commanding officer by beating him with a bat, it doesn’t take long for a soldier to point out the other soldiers’ positions. Before letting the soldier go, Pitt carves a swastika in the middle of his forehead so he “could never forget what he did.”

After this the movie takes a turn and follows the Americans’ plot to kill Hitler and the rest of his high command. They are all attending a movie premiere and cram themselves into a tiny theater.

The French woman who owns the theater, Shoshanna (Melanie Laurent), is Jewish and longs for revenge on the Nazis for killing her family. She hatches a plot that is sure fire while the Basterds, unaware of Shoshanna, desperately try to figure something out.

In the end Quentin Tarantino did an amazing job. Inglourious Basterds was a smash hit. This is a must see, so get out and watch it.

South Pacific wows audience

By Kate Kim Staff Writer

If you are looking for a musical to watch with your friends or family, South Pacific is the one to watch. This classic Rodgers & Hammerstein production played at the Golden Gate Theater in San Francisco. The show closed Oct. 25.

South Pacific is a musical that takes place during World War II on two South Pacific islands. It is about Nellie Forbush, a U.S. Navy nurse, and Emile de Becque, a French plantation owner who fall in love with one another. The two, however, are faced with racial prejudice.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Joe Cable, who came to the island for a spy mission to help the war against Japan, falls in love with Liat, a Tonkinese girl. He meets her on an island called Bali H’ai, which is an island with a lot of women that is off limits to everyone but officers. Similar to Nellie and Emile, Joe and Liat face racial prejudices.

The scene that grabbed my attention was in Scene II in which the American sailors called the

Seabees sing about the absence of women in their lives. Filled with exciting singing and choreography, the song “There is Nothin’ Like a Dame” left the audience with a big round of applause.

My favorite song is “I’m G o n n a Wa s h T h a t M a n Right Outa My Hair,” which is sung by Nellie. Thinking she doesn’t know Emile well enough to love, she proclaims that she will forget him. While she’s singing the song, Emile himself comes and she can’t help but fall in love with him again. In this song, Nellie and her friends play around in the shower at the beach, and she literally washes her hair with shampoo while singing this catchy tune.

Although this song was one of my favorites, the beginning of the song had a Rated R scene. It was when two men ran out of the shower naked, with nothing but a towel covering up their fronts. It was unexpected because it was never in any of the other versions of South Pacific, and it was not appropriate for the younger kids.

South Pacific is a musical full of the best features: drama, excitement, and humor. This famous musical will have you at the edge of your seat. With twists and turns that you will never expect, take a ride on a love story conflicted with racial prejudices and enjoy an evening in Bali H’ai.

“Funhouse” isn’t all that fun

By Amanda Chouinard Staff Writer

“Funhouse,” Pink’s newest song on VH1 should be called “Burn This House,” because it is inciting violence and hostility in domestic households.

Now if you are someone who follows Pink’s music or if you are the person who changes the station every time her music comes on, you notice that her music is aggressive. She looks into her soul and brings about songs that are full of resentment and unfriendliness.

“Funhouse” is sung by Alecia Beth Moore, which most people don’t know is Pink’s real name.

She is known for writing and singing songs that are rebellious, defiant, and unruly.

For example, the lyrics in “Funhouse” include, “I’m gonna burn it down, down, down, I’m gonna burn it down, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, fun.”

The music video consists of a burned down house that Pink relishes, running around and screaming.

In our modern day society it seems to me that people who are very impressionable might get an idea from this video and decide to burn down their girlfriend’s or boyfriend’s house.

That is not a safe, inspirational song.

In “Funhouse” Pink also says, “I’ll change the drapes, I’ll break the plates.” This statement seems to say that if you break something, it will fix all of your problems. If this is the message that Pink wants to send to susceptible young minds, then she should continue with compiling more songs similar to this one.

Observe, report, and be disappointed

By Georgina Sousa Staff Writer

Compared to all the movies I have seen with Seth Rogan in it, Observe and Report was not his best performance. In Observe and Report, Rogan plays a mall cop, Ronnie Barnhardt, who tries to solve a case of a pervert flashing people. Of course, Barnhardt has to be more than average to try to get rid of the detectives and sheriffs so he can solve the case by himself.

The movie made fun of mall cops and made Barnhardt a loser with no life who still lives with his mother.

I went in thinking this movie

was going to be hilarious, since it had Rogan and he’s one of my favorite actors. But I was wrong.

The movie was more vulgar than anything, showing parts of the body no one would want to see and using language that even a sailor wouldn’t say.

The movie wasn’t all bad, though the majority of it was.

There were a couple of funny scenes. The fighting scenes were the funniest parts since Barnhardt had major fighting skills in the movie.

Even though the movie wasn’t the greatest, it still had an uplifting ending with Barnhardt catching the pervert and falling in love with a girl who loves him back. He showed everyone that he could solve the case.

I wouldn’t recommend watching this movie. This wasn’t a great movie of Rogan, but if you’re looking for one I would recommend Knocked Up; but make sure you’re watching it with an adult since it’s rated R. Also, if you’re looking for a cartoon movie with Rogan in it, I would say watch Monsters vs. Aliens. It is a cute and funny movie.

Star Trek’s new look impresses trekkies

By Joe DiRosa and Nick Leonardo Staff Writers

Star Trek is a fantastic science fiction dramatic thriller that will blow your mind and make you want to see it over and over again.

For all you Trekkies, this movie will seem very familiar. However, all the characters except for the future Mr. Spock, are young, new, and modern. This movie was filmed to have a different look than previous Star Trek movies.

The story follows a young character named James T. Kirk.

Kirk’s father is a legendary starship captain but while living in his father’s shadow, Kirk is rebellious with no direction.

He then enters the Star Fleet academy to fulfill his destined greatness and fitfully rise to captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The movie is mixed with an interest-

ing take on time travel and its boundaries, and smooth and well done fight scenes.

If you like a lot of action, this has plenty of it and will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time. We particularly liked the conflict between the young Kirk and Spock, which was a new twist on the story different from the original show.

Another thing we liked about the movie was the breath-taking computer generated view of space.

“ movie puts This the latest Star Wars trilogy to shame. ”

The plot and the story line were phenomenal. If you’re a Star Wars fan than this movie will definitely float your boat because they’re very similar.

However, this movie puts the latest Star Wars trilogy to shame.

We highly recommend you see this movie whether you’re a previous Star Trek fan or not.

The DVD release is on Nov. 17.

New Muse album released, no resisting the Resistance

By Igor Breyman Staff Writer

Muse, a tremendously influential band from the U.K., released their seventh album on Sept. 16. With much anticipation, this new album brought everything it promised and more.

Muse has concocted a variety of music since their first album titled Showbiz, which featured a pleasant mix of piano and alternative rock. Following Showbiz, Muse released Origin of Symmetry, Hullabaloo, Absolution, and their mix album of B-Sides/Fury, which all feature an amazing combination of alternative rock with violins, pianos, harps, and full orchestras. Muse’s sixth album

Black Holes and Revelations took a more pop-like approach to music, and honestly made me gag with dislike at how mainstream they became. But little did I know that was soon to change.

Their seventh album, titled Resistance, literally grasped me by the shoulders and threw me into another world that I had never seen, leaving me breathless.

Many of the songs featured on the album have been compared to the epic doings of other bands such as Depeche Mode and Queen, and when something’s compared to them, it can never go wrong.

Resistance can be described best as a cacophonous mixture of modern contemporary beats, meeting unique instruments that you would never imagine paired with alternative rock, layered with beautiful classical masterpieces, and topped with a glorious style that can never be matched.

The final song on the album, titled “Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)” is more than simply breathtaking; it’s soul taking. At first the song deceives you by beginning with a gorgeously slow paced piano, followed by a symphony of violins. Before you know it, you find the pace

becoming faster and faster, and your muscles tensing to match the pace. When the drums kick in along with lead singer Matthew Bellamy’s god-like vocals, you can’t even try holding back the kind of feeling this song gives you. In words, this song takes all the negative in the world and shows you the hidden wonders inside them, leaving you with a sense of hope. This song alone would make the album, but luckily it’s paired with many more surprises.

The song ends itself by reverting back to the slow melody it started with.

Whether you’re a fan of classical, rock, or music that doesn’t have a genre, Muse is the band to go to. This album corrects all the flaws that Black Holes and Revelations left and more. The only flaw in this album is my dislike of the mainstream hit “Uprising” which many people are familiar with. Other than that, this album is utterly life changing, and I would use it as a soundtrack to my entire life. I strongly suggest it to everyone.

Transformers captivates audiences

By Tiffany Choi and Simrit Kaur Staff Writers

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an action-packed movie filled with the hottest actors and actresses that will keep your eyes glued to the screen from the minute it begins until the end. It was released on DVD

Oct. 20.

The science fiction action film, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg, was the sequel to the first movie, Transformers.

Even though the plot could be confusing at times, the intense action scenes and giant robots fighting are so realistic that we wouldn’t be surprised if they came out of the movie screen.

Transformers: Revenge is about the adventure Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) experiences when he gets trapped in a war between the Autobots and evil Decepticons.

The Fallen, leader of the Decepticons, orders his followers to find and murder Sam; the Autobots must keep Sam alive.

The Fallen seeks revenge on Earth with a lost machine, the Matrix of Leadership, which has

an enormous power of energy that has the ability to destroy all life on Earth.

Witwicky, with the help of his girlfriend, Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox), must find and destroy the machine before the Decepticons discover it; the humans and Autobots must destroy The Matrix of Leadership in order to save the world from destruction.

Revenge is a movie full of engaging scenes that keep you on the edge of your seat. The transformations of the robots are extremely detailed and realistic, especially during fighting scenes.

All in all, we would rate this movie a three and a half out of four stars. If you are the type of person who loves movies with adventure and action, this is the movie for you.

Little dog, big laughs in film

By Bianca Arias Staff Writer

The movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua is a fun filled family movie.

Since the well-known comedian George Lopez is one of the stars, he makes you laugh throughout the entire movie.

Also, in the movie, as the Beverly Hills Chihuahua is trying to return home, you get to see many beautiful parts of Mexico. This being more of a family movie, it has some good morals.

The actors help you see that no matter what one looks like or does for a living it doesn’t mean that one would be anything less

than you. Also the movie helps you see how everyone belongs somewhere.

The best part to the movie for me is the fact that the Beverly Hill Chihuahua learns that being stuck-up isn’t the best thing to be in life. This lesson is something very important for people especially little kids to realize.

All in all, this movie is something I would definitely watch again. Having comedy and a couple of heroic dogs makes it a great movie to watch with the whole family.

Football squad loses in final seconds

By Moises Fonseca Sports Editor

Heartbreak was the final result of the Homecoming game against the Mt. Eden Monarchs on Oct. 16. The Trojans lost their 10-point lead in the final minutes, overall losing 12-10.

“It was just a lackluster game,” said senior Eric Mason, captain of the varsity football team.

When the game started, there was a lot of enthusiasm from CVHS students. The stadium was packed and the crowd was cheering, whistling, screaming, blowing horns, and making noise with anything they could use. No one could complain about the weather.

The game started with a Castro Valley touchdown in the first quarter by senior Dan Heka, who ran two yards into the end zone. Castro Valley led, 7-0, at halftime.

During halftime, major events entertained the crowd starting with a performance by the cheerleading squads and the dance team. Afterwards, the color guard did a performance and the Homecoming court was announced. Finally, the school started the fireworks show.

In the second half, the varsity football team entered the field with a lot of confidence.

During the third quarter neither team scored any touchdowns. Castro Valley took a 10-0 lead after a 30-yard field goal by junior Nick Goulart.

However, things started to go down for the Trojans during the fourth quarter. Quarterback senior Michael Rojas threw an interception on the Monarchs 24-yard line. After three plays, Mt. Eden scored a touchdown with just 3:37 to play.

Then Mt. Eden attempted an onside kick and recovered the ball. The Monarchs reached Castro Valley’s 18-yard line. Everyone thought that Mt. Eden’s drive was over since they were able to get only a short pass and two incomplete passes.

But on the fourth and final try for the Monarchs, they gained 17 yards and a first down at the Trojans’ 1-yard line.

Mt. Eden easily gained one yard more to score another touchdown, but missed their extra-point kick. Mt. Eden was now up by two points, 12-10.

With just 9.8 seconds left in the game, the Trojans desperately attempted to pass the ball twice with long passes but failed to catch the ball.

The win was Mt. Eden’s first of the year. Castro Valley fell to one win and five losses.

Staff Writer

Junior Carlyle Garrick (right) carried the ball inside the Monarchs’ territory.

By Tiffany Choi Staff Writer

The girls golf team was victorious at the HAAL Championship, winning with a score of 406-511.

On the cold and rainy Monday of Oct. 19, Betty Chen, Kelsey Kong, Lin Philpott, Lauren Chin, Melissa Hosman, and Kendra Morris of the girls golf team shot a 406 as a team and their closest competitor shot a 511, equaling a winning score of 105 shots.

They played against all the schools at the Metropolitan Golf Course with the guidance of coach Ed Blom.

“The fact that we went out in rainy and cold conditions and

played so well is very encouraging,” said Blom.

The team’s next priority is to focus on winning at the Nov. 2 North Coast Section tournament, competing against all the EBAL (East Bay Athletic League) schools. They must finish in the top three in order to qualify for the NorCal tournament.The girls golf team has been undefeated for two years, which is quite an accomplishment.

“Overall, it was a very dominating performance by the mighty Trojans,” said Blom.

Their challenge for the next few years is to continue to stay undefeated.

How to turn Gold(man) into iron

By Wessam Aziz

Howard Whang / Photo Editor

Golf girls successfully win HAAL title

If you think Assistant Principal Sue Goldman is tough at school, you should see her running, swimming, and biking.

Goldman is going to participate in the challenging Ironman Triathlon on Nov. 22.

She will have to run 26.2 miles, bike for 112 miles, and swim 2.4 miles with time limits.

It would usually take around 15 hours to complete if a welltrained person does it without stopping.

“It really is a crazy race,” said Goldman.

Preparing for the race re-

quires intense training for six months to a year. Training is six days a week and includes two sessions of weight lifting, two sessions of running, two sessions of swimming, and two sessions of bike riding. On weekends, training is so intense that it is called “brick.” In a “brick,” she rides her bike for 75 miles and starts running for 10 miles.

“I am really interested in seeing how far the human body can be pushed,” said Goldman. “You can train the human body to do anything.”

That was one of Goldman’s reasons for signing up for this hard and costly race. It is costly because it is important to have a good bike,

to pay the $500 registration fee, to pay for a plane ticket to Arizona, hotel booking, and bike shipping.

Her other reason for participating is to raise money for the Surviving And Moving Forward Fund for young cancer survivors, which is led by her cousin who survived two different kinds of cancer. The organization works to provide money for young cancer survivors.

“Every time I go out on an eight-mile bike ride I think that I’m lucky that I’m physically able to do that,” said Goldman.

Goldman watched her first

GOLDMAN: Page 11

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

Kearny Combs / Staff Writer

Indigo Flowers, freshman

Being a 4.0 student and a beast on the volleyball court is easy according to freshman Indigo Flowers, one of three freshmen on the junior varsity team.

“I don’t think I can describe the feeling I get when I smack that ball down on somebody’s face to score the point.

It’s like a jolt of joy surges through me.

It makes me feel triumphant,” said Flowers.

Although she likes to have fun, she’s serious about her game. Flowers would like to see the Trojans play like a team this season.

“One thing we need to improve on is more communication on the floor.

It’s so frustrating when the ball comes down and two or three people go after it,” she said.

To see a nice girl turn savage on the volleyball court, look for number three on the junior varsity team. That’s Indigo Flowers.

Isabella Tang, sophomore

Since swimming made her “hungry” a lot, Isabella Tang’s new lover is tennis.

This is Tang’s first year playing for the JV team. She enjoys whacking the ball at other people.

“Tennis, for me, is a fun experience. The game is very intense, which makes it fun to play,” she said.

Playing tennis is only one of the things Tang does to stay in shape. She also tries to eat healthy and works out in her free time.

Tang says she’s “not just satisfied” with the team’s good record, she’s “exhilarated.”

Tang does admit playing tennis is tough. “The competition is very aggressive,” she said.

“Tennis gets tiring after the first couple of minutes, which sucks because that means you’re exhausted during the rest of the game,” she said.

Neil Flippen, junior

“It’s a relief knowing that all your hard work for six months, five days a week, with no sleep can finally be put to use,” said junior Neil Flippen.

This is Flippen’s second year playing tackle football on the varsity football team. He used to be in wrestling, but he felt the spandex was just a little bit too tight. Besides, he likes starting on the offensive and defensive lines for the Trojans.

“The hardest part about my position is staying low. The lower you are the easier it is to push your opponent. That’s what I need to improve on,” he said.

Though the varsity team has struggled this year, Flippen still has spirit.

He’s sure things will come around eventually.

“On the bright side, at least we’re still the best high school team in Castro Valley,” he said.

Angie Shin, senior Eight mile practice runs don’t seem to bother senior Angie Shin. This is her second year with the cross country team and she’s already finished first in a couple of races.

“I just wanted to do something new.

And since I’m in track in the spring I thought I should just be in cross country in the fall,” she said.

Aside from practices, Shin runs a couple of miles in her free time as well.

She’s not crazy. She just likes to run and wants to stay in shape.

Her fastest time over two miles was 14 minutes on the dot.

“I didn’t think I’d do so well at first.

But I’ve actually improved a lot and I’m going to keep pushing myself to do better. Next time my fastest time will be much faster,” she said.

Girls’ effort in race stood out the most

By Georgina Sousa Staff Writer

It was an intense day for the CVHS girls cross country team on Oct. 10 at the Castro Valley Invitational, one of the toughest races in the state. The varsity girls did their best, giving their all and running their hearts out. Even though they did an amazing job, they were a few runners short of making a team and weren’t able to place.

“They did great. We only had four girls, not a whole team, but Kelsey [Santisteban] broke the record,” said coach Dino Cardisamenos.

The race consisted of running the field, then the track, then uphill to the second level, and finally finishing up with the Canyon mile, making the course a total of three miles.

“We did a great job even though we didn’t make a whole team,” said junor Santisteban. “I still feel we did great.” Santisteban won first place with a time of 19:05. Her

time is the tenth fastest time of all the races held at Canyon.

“I think I did okay; it is a really tough course,” said senior Elise Wummer who came in sixth place with a time of 19:46. She stayed at a great pace and conquered the three-mile run like it was nothing. Junior Gabrielle White came in 12th place with a time of 20:49. “The team did good considering we only had four girls,” said White, who had a great start and finished solid.

“It is one of the hardest courses in the state, but our team conquered it, even though we didn’t have enough girls to make a team,” said junior Carolyn Gilchriese, who came in 45th place with a time of 22:23. She had a great run and kept at it the whole entire race, not stopping for anything.

Even though the girls were bummed out because they didn’t have a whole team, they did their best from start to finish.

Boys team placed third in invitational

By Sarah Gilchriese A&E Editor

Sarah Gilchriese / A&E Editor

Junior Gabrielle White sprints towards the finish line.

The boys varsity cross country team placed third as a team at the Castro Valley Invitational on Oct. 10. The boys’ race had 198 runners, and Castro Valley had three runners in the top ten. The race was a grueling 3.1 miles, looping through the Canyon mile twice, easily one of the hardest courses in the area.

The individual first place winner was junior Ben Eversole, who finished with a time of 16:11. Eversole beat his time of 16:32 from last year, setting a new personal record.

“The boys did really great,” said coach Dino Cardiasmenos. “[Eversole] is the real deal. He has one more year to race to be number two of all time on this course.”

Cardiasmenos has a lot of faith that Eversole will continue to improve his times.

“The team’s doing well because we have a huge amount of potential, which we are constantly working to reach,” said Eversole.

By the mile and a half mark, Eversole and senior Tom Ashby were already well ahead of the rest of the runners—Eversole in first, and Ashby in third. The second place runner was Jeff Bickert from College Park.

Ashby came in third overall and second for the team with a time of 16:31. He also set a new personal record on this course.

“We did extremely well as a team,” said Ashby.

The third man for the Castro Valley team was junior Erich Coulter, who ran a time of 17:00.

He placed seventh in the race, also beating his personal record from last year.

“Our team runs supernatural; we put it all out there,” said junior Anthony Martore, who came in 17th overall with a time of 17:20.

Junior Greg Owyang, the fifth and final man to help score for the team, ran a time of 18:36, coming in 63rd overall.

GOLDMAN: from Page 10

Ironman race in 2001 and decided that she had to be a part of it. She competed in 2003 but missed the cutoff time by a matter of minutes after 13 hours of swimming, riding, and running.

She didn’t get to finish. Goldman said she might not have been able to finish last time, because she wasn’t well-trained enough. But this year, she has been training really hard and she will be going to Arizona with better chances of getting to the finish line.

If you want to know more about Goldman’s experience or the SAM Fund, visit http:/ suesironodyssey.blogspot.com or http:/www.thesamfund.org/ pages/news.html.

CVHS prepares for swine flu wave

By Dana Lin Staff Writer

Joseph Wan / Editor-in-Chief

Senior Jason Bolich (drums) and 2009 graduate Nic Redmond (vocals) rehearse for Battle of the Bands which took place on Oct. 23.

ADAMS: from page 1

When the cars reached a turn in the road, Wright’s Corvette “spunout and collided with a power pole,” said Adams.

Adams and several witnesses saw a bright flash and sparks from the Corvette, which came to a stop upside-down. Wright, 18, and Streicher, 17, died at the scene.

Three witnesses from the incident told the CHP they thought Adams and Wright were racing at the time of the accident. CHP officials later recommended that prosecutors charge Adams with manslaughter and racing, citing the witness statements and “physical evidence from the scene.”

Adams did not reply to an email

CROSS: from page 1

nate against cross dressers. By “sexualizing,” she means, for example, boys putting balloons in their shirt to look like girls, or acting a certain way to mock girls.

According to Goldman, boys dressing up as girls were more insulting than vice versa. This was because boys were permitted to cross-dress in events like the

DANCE: from page 1 dents] are doing the best they can, and we have to meet them in the middle,” said Spanish teacher Jared Cavaness, one of the supervisors at the Homecoming dance.

“This [policy] at heart is trying to create the safest and most comfortable environment,” said Principal Pete Alvarez.

The Homecoming dances get approximately 800 students attending, about twice the average of most other dances. The new dance policy is the result of five years of dances and the rise of inappropriate dancing.

Nick Whitaker, the leadership advisor, said that changes to dances are about compromise.

“I know there is no real ‘freaking’ index, but honestly, teens know what’s appropriate and what’s wrong,” said Whitaker.

“It’s not like we’re trying to make dances less fun; it’s actually the opposite.”

seeking comment.

“We are glad the persons responsible are being held accountable in this case of senseless negligence,” said Jennifer Miles, Streicher’s sister.

“We appreciate the outpouring of support from the community and hope that young people everywhere will learn two lessons from this unfortunate event: never, ever race or drive recklessly and never, ever get in the car with an unsafe driver,” Miles said.

Adams and Wright graduated with the CVHS Class of 2008. Streicher would have been a senior in the 2008-09 school year.

Homecoming male skits and the Mr. CV pageant. In these events, boys dressed up and acted like stereotypical girls in ways which didn’t seem pleasant to the eyes of some students. “[The] portrayal of women is something that we want to protect as best as we can here in the school environment,” said Alvarez.

Although complaints of “freaking” over the years have led to change in policy, the same can be said for complaints over behavior contracts. The administration listened to students about the hassle of the contracts and got rid of them for dances this year.

“We have the right to experiment and have fun,” said freshman Hope Reinasel who was one of the few people with their wristbands cut off.

Reinasel admitted that one of her friends generously gave up her own wristband for her so she could dance with a little less worry. She still intends on going to as many dances as she can regardless of the dance policy.

Many students have their complaints with the new policy, but supervisors estimated that 20 to 25 students had their wristbands cut off and no students were kicked out for “freaking.”

VANDALS: from page 1

improvement. This year the administration asked leadership students to dissipate the hate. Leadership implemented a new 200-point category for sportsmanship.

“The whole reason students get involved in vandalism is because of all the homecoming hype,” said sophomore class president Jessica Woo. “These new policies will help.”

The camaraderie shown on homecoming day was indisputably the proudest moment for all who attended.

“All the classes cheered for each other. That’s how it’s supposed to be,” said leadership teacher Nick Whitaker.

“It’s a huge step in the right direction,” said Principal Pete Alvarez of the sportsmanship shown this year.

Since school started, many students at CVHS have been absent due to sickness.

When comparing the first 19 days of this school year to last school year, there were 289 more absences this year. It is not certain that the increase in absences is due to the H1N1 virus “Our numbers are definitely higher than last year at this time by several hundred,” said school nurse Sandee Velasquez. “Although we cannot say for certain that this increase is due only to the H1N1 virus, it seems to have

“That is our big

message. Stay home with your fever.

Sandee Velasquez School Nurse

”

had an impact on our overall number of absences.”

What’s unique about swine flu is that it targets pregnant women and those in the younger age group are more susceptible to the it. During the typical flu season, 36,000 people die annually in the U.S., but most are senior citizens.

As different as the swine flu may be to the seasonal flu, the symptoms are very similar and there’s no way to tell the difference without laboratory testing.

These symptoms include abnor-

mal tiredness, headache, runny nose, sore throat, coughing, muscle ache, and on occasion vomiting and diarrhea.

Recently, the swine flu vaccine has been released.

“It’s first available to the medically fragile population,” said Velasquez.

However, when the vaccines become more abundant in November and December, the Department of Public Health recommends everyone to get the vaccine. They also recommend to get the seasonal flu shot.

Swine flu first appeared in mid-March in Mexico. In April, it reached the United States. Since then, it has quickly spread to become a pandemic.

“We’re bracing for it to be a bad winter,” said Velasquez.

The swine flu virus is expected to peak in winter, when mixed in with the seasonal flu season.

“We won’t see the greatest impact until probably February or so,” said Principal Pete Alvarez.

So far, there have been no confirmed cases of swine flu at CVHS. Washing hands often and very thoroughly will hopefully keep it that way.

A person is most contagious when running a fever. The virus can spread during this time period. Students should only come to school 24 hours after a fever has broken, without the help of medication.

“That is our big message.

Stay home with your fever,” said Velasquez.

Obama favors longer school year

By Aditi Bhatia Staff Writer

President Barack Obama recently suggested extending school days by adding more time to classes, and increasing the overall days students spend in school every year.

Obama thinks that students in the U.S. are at a disadvantage compared to students in other countries because they spend less time in school. The change is needed because although the current economy is not agrarian, the current school calendar is still based on the agrarian economy schedule, when students had to spend time outside of school to work in the fields.

“Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas. Not with Malia and Sasha [Obama], not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom,” said Obama.

This proposal could help students prepare the demands

of the future. Disadvantaged children do not make any progress during the summer and end up forgetting what they learned during the school.

Longer school hours would give them a longer amount of time to work on their academic skills, helping them retain what they have learned.

“If you compare American kids to other kids in Japan and the educational system, we’re at a disadvantage. More schooling is needed; more class work is needed. Most kids over there are at school from seven to five, but I don’t see it happening to CVHS. The social culture change is too big,” said Assistant Principal Sue Goldman.

Money for funding these extra school days would also be an issue.

“The teachers’ contract would need to be changed and that would take a lot of work even if Obama requested it. There’s too much money and costs associated with it,” said Assistant Principal Jesse Woodward.

Meanwhile, the federal and state governments are debating the proposal.

“On one end we have Governor [Arnold] Schwarzenegger, who is looking to reduce the number of days in order to save money, and on the other end we have our president who is discussing the option of extending the school year,” said Principal Pete Alvarez. “I think the fact that we have a federal government that is saying one thing and a state government that’s saying another shows a complete disjunction and a misunderstanding of what it really is that we’re trying to accomplish and what we’re up against in the state of California and in our school.”

Many students disagree with this proposal.

“I’m fine with having more school days, but I’m against making them longer. It would drain you. But we do need to catch up with the other countries,” said junior Yesenia Gutierrez.