DGG November 2018

System Overload A look into how high schoolers deal with stress

page 19

DGG Dry Dry Gulch Gulch Gazette Gazette

Arroyo High School | Volume 58 Issue 2 | Nov 16, 2018

Looking back...

On October 18, Congressman Eric Swalwell who represents District 15, came to AHS to give a speech to our junior and senior classes. He discussed the importance of voting, his roles in the White House, and gun control.

Photo | Daniel Grafil

Table of Contents

CAMPUS: 4 Event Prices 6 New Homework Clubs 7 Gap Year 8 Grateful Dons 9 Teacher Shortage 10 Club Struggles COMMUNITY: 12 Places to Visit 13 Independent Study 14 Dons at Work 15 African American Council 16 Food Pantry 18 Student Volunteers A CLOSER LOOK: 20 Grade Selection 22 Dealing with Stress OPINION: 24 Stress Management 25 Homework Club 26 Clubs 27 Students at Work CULTURE: 28 Gaming Club 30 Recipes 32 Path Not Taken 33 Alumni in Art SPORTS: 34 Sport Recap 35 Powerlifting 36 Three-Sport Athletes 38 eSports 39 College Recruitment COLUMNS 40 Non-Traditional Thanksgiving

28

16

40

4

26

19

15

Correction from Issue 1: The career center is open every day except Wednesday from 4-6

Cover Illustration | Rizelle Jugarap

34

3

The Price to Pay A look into the price of events on campus.

By Mirella Ramirez & Jeanette Hernandez

I

n the past four years, there has been six events on the AHS campus canceled due to insufficient ticket sales. Students wonder what is making this occur and why tickets for events off campus are so expensive.

For most students on campus, it is not uncommon to see events be canceled. For seniors it was the Sadies Dance 2016 since their freshman year to this past September and the cancelation of the Hello Carnival, canceled for the second time in the past two years. Insufficient tickets sales is one of the reasons why the carnival was canceled but some speculate that it also has to do with the prices of these tickets .

Angela Cirimele, Financial Technician for 11 school years, understands why students oppose the prices of the dances or sporting events, “I understand that it’s expensive, but if you want it a little nice, you kind of have to spend to get it a little nice,” Cirimele said.

Cirimele does not think students won’t go to the events because of the prices but instead the attitudes students have towards the events on campus. “[Students] don’t want to come here, it’s cheaper to come here, but kids don’t want to come here. They want to go off campus, but they have to realize if we go off campus it’s going to cost,” Cirimele said.

For Homecoming to happen it took a total of $5,250. This included the rent of Hayward City Hall, the DJ that came with the photobooth, the School Resource Officers [SRO], and the snacks provided at the dance. There were a total of 314 tickets sold each price starting with $25 with ASB to $40 without ASB. As for an event to happen on campus, it would take about $1,600 to $2,100. This would come with a location here at AHS, a DJ, decorations, and snacks. There also needs to be at least 150 tickets sold, yet most students would not want to pay to come back to school. “[ The money] just goes around and gets sent right back to you guys,” Cirimele said.

As for Senior Cruise, the total of $15,205, and the tickets were set from $65 to $75. The extra money used from the ticket will be used

4

CAMPUS CAMPUS

for the snacks or decorations. The total tickets sold for the cruise was 237 tickets.

Sports are not an exception. For every season, the school has to pay for the referees, California Interscholastic Federation [CIF], Weighted Average Cost of Capital [WACC], and SRO’s which add up to a couple thousand dollars each season.

“It’s not a fundraiser, it’s just this is how much it costs us, that’s what we are charging,” Cirimele said.

Senior Jaelen Santa-Lucia, a member of leadership for the past four years, has dealt with years of trying to get students to attend events on or off campus.

“We try to stay within our budget and we want people to come to the

“As a freshman start saving, because senior year is so expensive. “

Financial Technician Angela Cirimele said

events to enjoy high school and remember it as an enjoyable time period,” Lucia said.

Senior John Michael Esteban also believes that due to the conditions of the school, students would not want to attend events here.

“I feel like people like the events better when it’s somewhere else because our school doesn’t look so nice and the gym is not the place for homecoming.”

Sophomore Jonathan Lucas finds events on campus not as bad as it seems and prioritizes enjoying the event with friends.

“I enjoy going to school events, especially the homecoming game, even though we lost. I had fun with my friends and it was a good experience.”

Although not all students feel the same as Lucas, junior Tommy Chen has only attended one event, which was Octoberfest, which he overall enjoyed. Yet, he does not choose to go events run by ASB. “Well most are dances, and stuff like football games, and those don’t interest me at all,” Chen said.

Arroyo has many events created throughout the school year. Most are not for everyone, but at least one event should peak the interest of students.

For the students who cannot afford to go to all events, it’s best to pick and choose the events you want to go to.

Finally, Cirimele adds her advice to what incoming classes should do when it comes to the costs of the events.

“As a freshmen start saving, because senior year is so expensive.“ •

CAMPUS CAMPUS

55

New Homework Clubs

Students speak on their homework club experience.

hl aK

nig ht

By Makahla Knight

Photo Illustatio

M n|

a ak

“Homework Club was really beneficial. It helped me not be distracted from other situations at home.”

math classes offered. Math II and Math III teacher, Dean Ironside is one of the many math teachers in the math department who opens their classroom up for tutoring. He even ran sessions of the Health and Medicine homework club that was part of the old system, last year.

“We think that this type of setup will be of more benefit to the students seeking help because the teacher in the room is an expert in the subject area,” Ironside said.

Though teachers are being paid at an hourly rate, the hope is for students to get help in areas they need the most help in.

“I think this will be better in the long run as the tutoring center is less of a social center and more of a work [or]’get better’ center,” Ironside said. •

Dean Ironside tutors sophomore Adryanna Cortez after school during one of his tutoring sessions.

hl aK

nig ht

Senior Alida Aguayo said

F

or the past few years there have been four homework clubs at AHS. Those four homework clubs at were based on each Small Learning Community (SLC), and there were teachers of that small learning community that helped the students of that same small learning community. At the different homework clubs, students would go to get homework done, and even extra help or tutoring. This old system of tutoring and homework club failed because of the lack of help that students needed for a subject that the teacher present was not able to help with.

Starting this year, there are no longer SLC based homework clubs. Meanwhile the math department has taken upon themselves to create their own homework club where they have different rooms for the four

| Photo Illustation

ka Ma

“In the new system, I would really want help with different subjects all in one room.”

Senior Angel Cisneros said

6

CAMPUS

Photo | Cassandra Yuan

Backpacking the Year

Gaps in Stats

Students explore the alternatives to going straight into college.

By Olivia Doctor

A

pproaching life after high school, seniors are forced to choose which college to apply to, what career path they will choose, and who they want to be. While others make the decision right after high school, there are some who will decide to take a gap year.

Senior Nolan Copada has decided to take two years off after high school. Copada is doing a two-year mission for his church to spread their beliefs. Not only is his two year gap for his mission, but Copada appreciates the extra time to think about what he really wants to do for his future career. Taking a gap year is for those who need more time to know what they want when facing the real world.

“I think academically speaking I don’t really know what I want to do with my life so you know picking a college and major is part of that and you want to go down a path that you would want as a career,” Copada said.

According to Gap Year Association, a non-profit accreditation that helps young Americans start their gap year, 92% of students who take a gap year has gained life experiences and grew personally, 85 % of students spend their gap year traveling and experiencing cultures, 51% explore other study options, and 44% consider other career options before entering college.

Senior Reimy Ishikawa made the decision early on in her high school career, to take a gap year after high school to do a mission for her church to give back to her community.

Her decision to take on the gap year to give her some more time, and make her more whole as a person before going off to college. ¨I feel like it’s going to help me grow as a person like I´m still trying become a better person and find out who I want to be in the future so I feel like taking a year off will help me,¨ Ishikawa said.

Copada sees the gap year as an

advantageous opportunity that can play a role in future success.

“I think that it can really open your eyes a little and kind of expand the different opportunities that you could go, some people make the decision to maybe not go to college or find out what colleges they do want to go to and what they can do from college,” Copada said.

A gap year gives those a chance to know what they really want to do in life, instead of facing the pressure that comes with making life-changing decisions. Ishikawa will use the gap year to discover herself.

“I feel like just do it like cause like myself, I’m still trying to discover who I want to be, what I want to do,” Ishikawa said.

Career center counselor Cece Adams encourages taking a gap year to travel, think, give back to your community, and to find yourself, learn cultures, travel, and experience the real world. Gap years help those put ease to making big decisions for their life but they can also be a disadvantage.

Some advice from Adams to students who do decide to take a gap year is to make it a productive learning experience for yourself that can lead to your future success.

“You should really think about what you want to do in college so that you can pick the right one for you that will lead you to the career that would best suit you,” Copada said.

Making decisions to determine your future can be stressful, but with a gap year, the stress can be lifted and thoughts can be pondered over some time, which can lead to a better outcome.

“If you are going to take a gap year, make sure it is a learning experience during that year. Make sure it is an experience that would eventually lead you to have a better experience in college so it guides you to the right place,” Adams said. •

Illustration | Vivian Lui

Statistics below showing percentage of students’ interest during their gap year.

82%

Take a break from academic track

92%

Gain Life Experiences

82%

Travel to explore other cultures

48%

volunteer Statistics courtesy of the Gap Year Association

By Cassandra Yuan Gap years are a viable option for students who want to gain a different experience before going to college or a business school. In 2016, the Gap Year Association Members and Provisional Members gave away over four million dollars in scholarships and needs-based grants. Gap years are used for many things such as: gaining life experiences, personal growth, travel, explore different career options, explore differnent study options, volunteering, or even a break from the academic track.

CAMPUS

7

We have compiled a list of a few ways that you can show your appreciation to your loved ones this Thanksgiving. Try them out during the holiday season!

1 3

Acknowledge people when they do something kind for you. Always express your thanks even if people do not really help you.

Compliment people on an aspect of their character that you admire.

5

Exhibit patience at all times. Be willing to give people chances because everyone makes mistakes.

6

By Melanie Thai

A

toasty room glowing with smiles and laughter all around, aromas of pie in the air, warm turkeys with delicious stuffing, and mashed potatoes oozing with gravy. On November 22, people all around the country will be celebrating Thanksgiving surrounded by their loved ones, but have we taken the time to express our appreciation?

Encourage others to go beyond and accomplish more with their utmost effort.

7

Be open-minded with the people in your life. They may not share the same opinions as you, but they have shaped you into the person you are today in some way.

ony

Wu

Sop ho

T ore

“I am grateful for my friends and family and being able to live a happy, healthy life,” junior Elaine Lin said.

Elaine does not have just one experience that made her grateful for these things.

“Wow, I’m really lucky to be here and have everything around me,” Lin said.

Her reflections about her life remind her about how fortunate she is to have the things in her life and takes her mind off of the things that she does not have.

“When you reflect on your life, you realize you have all these friends and family around you and you have the opportunities you have now,” Lin said.

When asked what she would tell people who may not be as grateful for having their friends and family, she said, “I would tell them to not take your friends and family for granted because if you lose someone or when they’re not here, you’re going to realize how lucky you were to have them here when you were able to.”

r

Sen io

2

Be supportive. Be the person that is there when someone is in need. Be the person that someone can rely on.

4

What are our fellow dons grateful for?

m

Be present. Show that you are actually listening and paying attention to what others have to say.

Thankful Dons

hn Be

az Faizi

8

Be kind to one another.

Perform random acts of kindness whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Little things go a long way.

Photo Illustrations | Melanie Thai

8

CAMPUS

Two years ago, sophomore Tony Wu had a high risk of having a heart attack in his late 20s, early 30s due to one of his arteries being in the wrong place. This artery created a one inch hole in his heart that increased his risk for heart attacks later in his life. As a result of this risk, his family decided to go through with having open heart surgery which would decrease his risk of having a fatal heart attack later in his life.

“Taking that procedure really made me think about them caring for me otherwise they would [have] just left me there in that previous condition,” said Wu while talking about how his family has supported him throughout the years.

After going through this experience, Tony realized how much his family meant to him and how much he meant to his family.

or

ine Ela

Lin

Jun i

8 Ways To Express Gratitude

“The basics. My family, my friends, my teachers,” senior Behnaz Faizi said when asked about what she is grateful for.

Behnaz has learned to appreciate all the people in her life, “Every day. When I see other people who don’t have the community I have, such as my family or my friends or my teachers.”

She notices and compares her surroundings to those of others and realizes that she is very lucky to be able to have supportive people in her life.

“Don’t think about what you don’t have and try to keep an open mind and be more sociable, put yourself out there,” she said.

Behnaz focuses on being thankful for the things that she does have rather than yearning for things that she does not. This is piece of advice is what helps her appreciate the little things in her life.•

In the Pursuit of Education San Lorenzo school district struggles to hire new teachers amidst teacher shortages.

By Rizelle Jugarap

Photo | Daniel Grafil

Students doing worksheets in a French 1 class that was taught by a long-term substitute as a result of teacher shortages.

T

here are two new world language teachers: Kelsey Kendricks and Bea Founas. American Sign Language (ASL) teacher Kendricks began on October 29 and French teacher Founas began October 30.

For the first quarter of the school year, three French classes and five ASL classes did not have a teacher. The first French teacher did not have the proper credentials and the second quit a week before school started.

The ASL class did have a teacher lined up before the beginning of the school year, but they were ineligible to teach at AHS. This led to the two teacher vacancies.

This is not the first incident in which there have been teacher vacancies during the school year. At the start of the 2017 school year, there were vacancies in Math I and two Chemistry classes.

Administration acknowledges teacher shortages as a difficulty when hiring teachers. Assistant Principal Shelly Fields cites various reasons why teacher shortages occur.

“Teaching doesn’t pay as much as other industries… if you’re trying to recruit more teachers of color...[first or second goingcollege students’] families may be pushing them to go to higher careers… There’s still kind of a stereotype that those who can’t do teach… [and] we’ve had periods of

layoffs,” Fields said, “People choose not to become a teacher. It’s hard work and nobody understands what it’s like until they become a teacher.”

According to the Learning Policy Institute, teaching vacancies can grow as large as 112,000 in 2018. Additionally, a poll

by UCLA published in The Chronicle of Higher Education revealed that in 2016, only 4.6% of college freshmen’s probable field of study was education, compared to 11% in 2010.

“People choose not to become a teacher. It’s hard work and nobody understands what it’s like until they become a teacher.”

Assistant Principal Shelly Fields said

Teacher shortages are affecting classrooms across the district. Sophomore Erika Ramirez, who attended Edendale Middle School from 2014-2017 has been in a class that did not have a teacher.

“It was during math and science. For science, it was a whole school year [without a teacher]. We didn’t really learn anything.

We just worked in our books and read. I did not learn with book work. I didn’t do it

because I didn’t know how…. When I asked the substitute a question they said ‘I don’t know.’”

Senior Brenda Garibay who had attended Bohannon Middle school from 2012-2015 has been in a similar situation. Her English teacher left during the 2014-2015 school year.

“We had to have a bunch of subs come in.

They were always different. It wasn’t always consistent… I feel like I didn’t really learn as much to prepare me for high school or a higher level in English,” Garibay said.

Administration is hoping to prevent incidents of teacher vacancies from reoccurring.

Fields said, “It has not gone according to plan. But I did learn that should this ever happen again, I have a clear idea of all the different steps. And hopefully our new superintendent will help us with staffing and systems that will process our future employees and applicants in a really expedient manner, and share with them along the way where they are in the process.

So I’m hoping that as we grow and fine-tune the process that they will no longer be shortstaffed and they will have the resources they need to recruit and process, and… onboard our new employees in a way that is really transparent and timely. And preferably before the start of the school year.” •

CAMPUS

9

Staying Afloat An inside look into the challenges some clubs face as they try to keep consistent membership.

By Angela PeĂąa

Interact

Key Club

Filipino Club

Latinos Unidos DECA Illustration | Rizelle Jugarap

10

CAMPUS

S

eniors Francesca Mascarinas and Jasmine Cordero are co-presidents of the new club on AHS campus, Filipino club. To start this club they had to create a “master plan” in which they wrote out what expectations and rules they had. With this “master plan”, they created a constitution for the club, found a supervisor, filed paperwork, created social media accounts, established a Filipino club board, and built meeting plans.

Now there are 139 people that have signed up for their club with around 40 people attending meetings regularly. With a lot of people signed up for their club, they face challenges trying to maintain consistent membership.

“The challenge is getting people to come to meetings. People don’t really like assigning time to go to meetings or just interactment or involvement with other activities,” Mascarinas said, “That’s something were working on by inspiring them and letting them know why it’s important and creating more interesting events.”

While they may have a huge following, it was not an easy journey for them to create Filipino club.

“The club scene at Arroyo is kind of dead.

It’s just hard to get people to participate sometimes,” Mascarinas said, “The paperwork process is really long and we have to plan things so far ahead in advance. That’s why it’s really stressful but we’ll get through it.”

Out of the 31 clubs that were out in club rush week, 11 were new clubs. However some clubs have had difficulty making sure their club keeps continuing and having their daily meetings. Senior Iris Gomez, former president of last year’s ASL club, saw how hard it was keeping the energy of the club continuing with the six members they had.

“No one fully put their energy within the club. The members themselves did not put their energy towards the club,” Gomez said, “They were like ‘I’m just doing this for credit’ or ‘I’m just doing it for partial information’ or ‘I’m just here to relax’.”

Gomez explains that ultimately clubs have to make sure to attract dedicated and passionate people for clubs.

“It’s not hard to keep people in the club, it’s a matter of the people. To be honest [even] if we put effort in it to showcase our club, in the end it’s them willing to come and continue on what they want to do,” Gomez said, “Without them not wanting to do it, then why do we have clubs? What’s the point of having clubs

Out of 31 clubs on campus...

11 were created this year

12 are 5+ years old 2 were created last year

According to Activites Director Jennifer Rodrigues

if people are not interested?”

With certain clubs struggling on having consistent membership, club officers need to attend a monthly mandatory meeting for a check in on how their club is doing.

Director of Student Activities, Jennifer Rodrigues, instilled a new 3 strike rule. You can get strikes by mishandling finances and not following ASB education codes and the district rules. If your club gets three strikes, then your club gets suspended for a period of time. These regulations are ultimately put in place to help clubs be continually successful.

“Going back to those monthly meetings, how could we help [clubs] continue that momentum throughout the year to see and to try to help build those clubs to continue them.” Rodrigues said.

In some cases, clubs aren’t starting from the ground up but have already grown such as Interact. To make sure that club members keep on attending meetings, Interact copresident Reimy Ishikawa works with event coordinators on promoting events and activities for members to go to.

“Our events coordinators, Leanne and Tiffany, provide monthly and weekly events for club members. That really keeps our members going. We also have fundraisers that happen monthly,” Ishikawa said, “We also have area wide events that not just people from our school go to, but a lot of others schools like San Leandro, KIPP and Castro Valley.”

Some clubs are just maintaining with their reputation on campus. DECA co-president Kaylana Hanhan strives on continuing on what former DECA officers have created for this club.

“We make it fun. DECA is known for being interactive and for being fun and going on those trips like you get that experience and stuff,” Hanhan said, “So I feel like you’re kind of having that reputation for the club that people are excited for, that they want to be a part of it.”

Ultimately, Mascarinas believes that what the key is to making a new clubs sustain membership is to communicate with the underclassmen.

“What’s important is inspiring underclassmen,” Mascarinas said, “You could always teach people how to do certain activities and procedures but you can’t really teach them passion, you have to instill it and that’s why every meeting I try highlighting why this club is important and why it should live on.” •

“The challenge is getting people to come to meetings.”

Co-president of Filipino club Francesca Mascarinas said CAMPUS

11

Celebrating in the Bay Area

Local places to visit during the holidays.

By Vivian Liu

T

he holidays are times of feasts, decorations, giving gifts, visiting loved ones, and overall festive cheer. However, the way people choose to celebrate the holidays varies. While some people prefer to stay home, others prefer to actively indulge in the holiday spirit with friends and family outside. This year, Thanksgiving break will take place from November 19 to November 23, and Christmas and New Year’s break will last from December 24 to January 4. AHS students and teachers reflect on their experiences during the holidays and recommend places to go. • Pier 39 Tree Lighting Location: Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco When: November 21, 2018 to January 1, 2019 Details: Experience the lighting of a 60-foot tall Christmas tree.

New Year’s Eve Fireworks Location: Embarcadero from Mission to Folsom, San Francisco When: December 31, 2018 Details: Witness an annual fireworks show accompanied by music.

Outdoor Skating Rink Location: Union Square, San Francisco When: November 7, 2018 to January 21, 2019 Details: Everyone can come out to enjoy this outdoor skating rink while being surrounded by festive lights, sounds, and a holiday atmosphere.

Oakland Ice Center Location: 519 18th Street, Oakland When: Everyday Details: Drop in for some cheap and affordable fun with friends and family!

Train of Lights by the Niles Canyon Railway Location: 6 Kilkare Road, Sunol When: November 23, 2018 to December 30, 2018 Details: Board a train for an hour-long ride round trip through Niles Canyon while enjoying refreshments, music, and cheer aboard antique cars featuring holiday lights and decorations.

Illustration | Trinity Mai

Q: Are there any other places you would recommend people to go to during the holidays? Could you tell me about your experience?

A: “There’s the holiday train in Sunol...The Niles Canyon Railroad.

It runs between Sunol and Niles, which is a little town next to Fremont. That’s a fun kind of holiday thing to do with younger kids. Hot chocolate on the train ride with lights. The Niles Railroad is really cute. It’s probably better for families with younger kids,” AHS physics teacher Jeff Jorgensen said.

12

COMMUNITY

Q: What does visiting local places do for you during holidays? What do you personally gain from it?

A: “It takes away the stress when you have so much to do for school like projects and...extracurriculars. Going to SF kind of takes away all that and looking at all the people and looking at the Christmas tree – there’s such a huge Christmas Tree in Fisherman’s Wharf and then there’s the smell of food in the air – it may not feel like Christmas since it never snows in California but it’s such a festive area so it kind of takes my stress away when I’m there with family,” junior Michael Huang said.

A Different Way of Learning Student discusses her experience with independent study.

By Daniel R. Grafil

Illustration | Samantha Wang

S

enior Sophia Smith went to AHS for her freshman, sophomore, and senior years.

During her time here, she has been a constant in the AHS music department, as well as Arroyo’s Marching Dons. However, when it came time for her junior year, she chose a different route to receive her education.

“I was ill. I had chronic pneumonia, and it was reoccurring. So, I couldn’t attend school,” Smith said.

Suffering from a form of pneumonia that confined her to a hospital, Smith decided to switch to independent study, opting to go to the independent study program run through East Bay Arts High School in Hayward.

Independent study is often overlooked when choosing how a student is to be educated. Programs such as the District Individualized Contracted Education, better known as DICE, as well as the independent study program run through East Bay Arts High School, do not get as much recognition as the other schools in the district. Smith weighed in on how the change caused a bit of culture shock for her.

“It was interesting. It was like one day, I was surrounded by a bunch of classes and a bunch of people, and the next day, I just was at a small room with a teacher,” Smith said.

During her time in independent study, she met with her teacher once a week to learn

more about her studies, as well as review certain topics. For the rest of the week, she would be assigned homework, which occupied upwards of 60 hours a week.

“You were assigned 60-80 hours a week of homework. So, you would do it all on your own, and if there were concepts you didn’t understand, you’d still have to do it, and then ask the teacher when you came for your appointment,” Smith said.

The freeform structure of independent study allowed a greater deal of flexibility for Smith. Often falling ill due to her recurring illness, the flexibility of independent study allowed her to keep up with her studies while maintaining her health.

“I was sick one of the times I couldn’t make it into an appointment. So, [my teacher] would contact me through the phone and tell me what I had to do for my next assignment,” Smith said.

As its name suggests, independent study is very dependent on the student’s own work ethic. Without regular guidance from a teacher, the work rests entirely upon the student between sessions with the instructor. AHS guidance counselor Mary Conway weighed in on the independence of independence study.

“For independent study, most of the work is done at home,” Conway said.

Against most people’s perception of

independent study, the lack of structure makes the process of doing work harder.

Although it may seem easier due to the more freeform structure, this is not the case.

“A misconception is that the workload is severely less than what you’d do at a regular school, and that it’s easier,” Smith said, “Other than having to deal with teachers, it’s super self reliant. You can’t procrastinate, and you have to do everything and understand everything on your own. It’s super individual.”

In addition to the raised level of difficulty, students may find that fulfilling their A-G requirements for college may be rather difficult.

“As far as meeting the A-G requirements for a UC or a CSU, it could be really difficult to get it from independent study or the DICE program,” Conway said.

Despite this, the general consensus is that if one should ever need to do independent study, the act of doing so would be in their favor.

“I think if you can, do public school. But if you need it, you know that you have a problem with attendance, you know you’re falling behind, or you know that there are things that prevent you from coming to school like family situations, I would do independent studies,” Smith said.•

COMMUNITY

13

Dons at Work The struggle for students going to school while working.

By Shaila Mendez

Photo courtesy of John Michael Alcantara Photo courtesy of Kevin Macedo

T

he Gazette reached out to AP admininistrative assistance Edelmira Morales and Karen Fogle about work permits. In total, our school has passed out 137 work permits and counting. Here are four students talk about their reasons, opinions, and struggles of working.

Senior Devany Montelongo works as a cashier at McDonalds at the Greenhouse Plaza. She wanted to work so that she can help her parents pay the bills at her home.

“I wanted to help [my parents] because I knew they were already struggling with money and always working their butts off so I wanted to help them out and get some weight off their shoulders. [The thing about this job is that] sometimes I ended up staying late trying to finish my homework,” Montelongo said.

Senior Ivan Castro works at the Great Mall, and sometimes Bayfair or Southland.

He works four days a week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. He still goes to Arroyo High School but instead of having a specific work time, he gets called or texted if the shop needs him. He does ear piercings at Piercing Pagoda because he needs the money to support himself.

“I support myself by getting money for prom or any type of event. [Working] sleep

14

COMMUNITY

Junior Kyra Cherry serving food at Great America and senior Devany Montelongo cooking food at McDonlads. deprives me, but I don’t let it kill me that much, so it’s all right,” Castro said.

Living in Hayward, junior Kyra Cherry works at California’s Great America in Santa Clara. She has to take a train, then either bike or skateboard to her job. She works as a food service associate and she wanted to financially support herself so it is not just her

“I wanted to help [my parents] out and get some weight off their shoulders.”

Senior Devany Montelongo said

mom providing for her.

“It was really tough last year during WinterFest because I didn’t get many hours when I was 15 and I had to get out there often.

I was basically working to commute back to work. This year it should be better because I made sure to save money specifically for WinterFest transportation so it wouldn’t happen again. [My grades] haven’t been impacted. I’ve been able to keep up my job and my school work,” Cherry said.

Cherry is not the only person who works

in the San Jose area. Freshman CJ Bernardos also works in San Jose in a music shop.

He works as a cashier and an equipment manager. He wanted to work because he thinks it would be a nice experience of what he wanted to be in the future.

“I wanted to work in music in general. So, I thought this would be a nice start because my co-workers, which [are] also my friends, hook me up with it in the first place. So, it was nice seeing what they do as a living and just to see what I can do later on in the future,” Bernardos said.

Bernandos’ job did not have any apparent affects on his grades Even though he cares about his work, he makes sure to prioritize his education.

College and career specialist Cece Adams talked about the pros and cons for working and having school at the same time.

“The pros of working is that you become independent, you can make your own money.

The cons is that it takes a lot of your time that you’re going to need to make sure that you can balance work and school together so you can be successful at both,” Adams said.•

African American Family Advisory Council

Providing African American students with support and a place to be heard.

By Symone Stokes

S

enior Faeven Mussie follows the same routine for the first day of school.

“On the first day of school the first thing I do is count how many other black people are in the class,” Mussie said.

It is not a question that in many classrooms within San Lorenzo Unified School District, African American students are underrepresented. It can be to the point where there are only one or two African American students in a class. To an outsider looking in, this may not look like an issue.

But to the few African American students within the class, it can be uncomfortable and they may feel a lack of belonging. In order for a student to produce their best quality work possible, it is important for them to feel supported and comfortable. African American students within our district often times do not feel this way.

The African American Family Advisory Council (AAFAC) was formed to make sure that African American students and families within the district are getting the support they need in order for students to succeed academically. Another reason is to build a platform for advocacy and opportunities for students and families of African descent.

The AAFAC was formed by members including AHS principal James Gray, assistant superintendent Barbara DeBarger, and director Sammar Saheli. Members of AAFAC hope that by reaching out to community members, they are able to form a partnership and work on problems together and collectively, while also forming deeper relationships amongst each other. Everyone is encouraged to join AAFAC. Meetings take place once a month and include student entertainment, community engagement and discussion about advocacy. Childcare and dinner are also provided “Relationship building, that’s what I really feel like is missing, I feel like that is a foundational concept that, we can have a list of things we’re trying to accomplish but if we don’t have a relationship with

Photo | Makahla Knight

Senior Jae’Len Santa Lucia and BSU student leaders talked and collaborated on how to increase student partcipation in BSU. the community, it isn’t going to happen,” Debarger said.

The founders were concerned about the growing disparity between suspensions, referrals, attendance rates, etc. amongst African American students when compared to other students of other races.

“There’s a small population of African American students, but they are overly represented in areas we think are really concerning,” Gray said.

AAFAC believes the first step to helping students succeed is having an open dialog between families and faculty.

“It is important as an educator, to build relationships with people you work closely with, because we work closely with students and their families and of course our colleges,

Racial Suspension Disproportionality One of the concerns AAFAC likes to bring awareness to is the racial disporanitly in suspunsions.

it’s important to build those relationships,” Gray said. By giving African American students the support they need, AAFAC hopes African American students within the district will improve and grow in academic achievement measures.

At the AAFAC meeting on October 30, the council discussed African American students’ performance in school. Also AHS’ Black Student Union and San Lorenzo High school’s student union discussed plans to increase student participation and how to get more African American families involved. The next meeting is to be announced.

“One goal I have for AAFAC is for African American students in the district to have a group where they are able to embrace their identity,” senior Jae’Len Santa Lucia said.•

42.69%

11.2% How much of the district African American students made up during 2016-2017 school year.

How much of suspensions African American students made up during 20162017 school year.

Illustration| Symone Stokes

COMMUNITY

15

Food For Thought

Local food pantry provides groceries for people in need.

By Janice Lee & Michael Thornton

M

ulticolored leaves litter the streets and the mornings turn brisk. As the fall season continues, many people will begin to celebrate the holidays.

However, not everyone is fortunate enough to have a hearty meal to enjoy with family or friends; there are less fortunate individuals who need assistance with their groceries. The San Lorenzo Family Health Center, one of the only food banks in San Lorenzo, is an available option for people in need of food assistance. They are open on weekdays to offer goods for people once or twice a month, depending on their location.

According to their own figures, the Alameda County Community Food Bank serves one in five people in the county. The high cost of living in the Bay Area forces many to look for other ways of getting what they need to survive.

Being a small unincorporated area, San Lorenzo does not have any big government funded associations to help our citizens.

Although the food pantry gets a steady clientele yearround, Marley Smith, the secretary and former president of the San Lorenzo Family Help Center, sees an increase of people coming in during the holidays.

“Definitely...especially for our holiday giveaway. Because we have Thanksgiving and Christmas distribution, a special one; we start getting calls ahead of time: ‘Are you going to have turkey?’ Which we can’t quite go with the turkeys, but they’ll all get a chicken or some kind of meat… and of course in the winter time it does increase a little bit,” Smith said.

16

COMMUNITY

This non-profit is not doing this without outside help.

Volunteers, both young and old, come every weekday to do various tasks to help people get their food efficiently.

“We have a lot of Arroyo Key Club students that come and help us, San Lorenzo High also… Anyone’s welcome to come, I don’t want to just say them but they’re the ones I usually contact to get some students to come. And they really enjoy it, they’ve always been really, really good and enjoyed it,” Smith said.

Paula Kapteyn, a retiree, volunteers at the San Lorenzo Family Help Center and finds her time at the food pantry a fulfilling experience. “[I enjoy the] interaction with the clients. My goal here is to help people, that’s why I like to interact with people because sometimes they need a talk, which I find interesting.

The diversity of the clients we have is very interesting,” Kapteyn said.

“I think for me, and I don’t work with the clients so much myself, but I think for me, it’s the hugs I get from them. Most of them are really really grateful. And I think that’s the way most of the volunteers feel also--because you know you’re helping someone,” Smith said.

Key Club is one the largest clubs at AHS, and its members dedicate

Photo Illustration | Janice Lee

themselves to public service, especially during the holidays where more festivities are happening and more help is needed. Amy Shun, the Vice President of Key Club at AHS, wants to find and communicate more of these events to their members to help out the community even further.

“We [already] help out at Meals on Wheels and that’s a food bank that helps the elderly. They help deliver the food to them, so they don’t have to leave their homes… We will give our members more opportunities to help out at local food banks,” Shun said.

Now, it is up to the people to lend a hand to organizations that help out people in the community.

“I think just be involved. If you see there’s a need, just step up and do it,” Smith said. “As far as the food pantry, we

do need the help at Christmas and Thanksgiving time and we really appreciate it. And even anything in your life, be involved… see what’s out there and where the needs are, and I see a lot of students doing that.”•

What’s For Dinner?

According to Marley Smith, the secretary of the San Lorenzo Family Help Center, everyone who goes to the food pantry will recieve:

2 Grains

2 Veggies

2 Fruits Protein e Lee ion | Janic Illustrat

COMMUNITY

17

Inside the Hearts of Volunteers AHS Officers go in depth about volunteering.

By Jacqueline Rico

Leanne Espinosa

Senior Leanne Espinosa is the 2018-2019 Interact Co-Events Coordinator, and has been volunteering since freshman year. Her favorite time to volunteer is during October and January because there are many events available to participate in. Espinosa believes volunteering is a great way to learn about your community and a way to give back to it. “Our members are getting a chance to experience responsibility teamwork and even gratitude. They’re making some of the biggest impacts with their tiniest of steps.

Volunteering is also a good experience because you could be surrounded with a room of strangers but after you might walk out with a handful of new friends.”

Julie Yu Senior Julie Yu is the 2018-2019 Interact Co-Outreach Coordinators , and has been volunteering since her freshman year. She is currently in four clubs which are: CSF, Tech Links Leadership, Interact and Girls Who Code. By volunteering she has gained new connections with people and her community and found new opportunities to thrive.

The thing she has enjoyed the most was being able to make a change while making new memories. “I think being able to get others to volunteer and being able to give back to their community has given me the best satisfaction.”

18

COMMUNITY

August Fernandez Senior August Fernandez is the 2018-2019 Interact Fundraiser Chair, and has been volunteering since middle school. He is currently in five clubs which are: Interact, Trend Leadership, SIA, Key Club and CSF. He has met new people, learned new skills and felt that he is officially part of the community, which is rewarding for him. August is currently working closely in an International Project for Interact called “Se Necesita Un Pueblo.” He is also providing service hours for his community project called “ Future in Focus.” “You get to be involved in making a difference while being surrounded by like-minded individuals who also want to make a difference.”

Sabrina Huang Sophomore Sabrina Huang is the 2018-2019 SIA assistant treasurer, and has been volunteering since she was in the 8th grade. She is currently in three clubs which are: SIA, Tech Links Leadership and Interact.

Huang looks forward to the satisfaction of volunteering and meeting new people along the way. “My motivation to keep volunteering is knowing that I have the power to help and be active in the community.”

NERVOUS SYSTEM An in-depth look at what stress looks like at Arroyo High School

Flip Page to Start Level Select The Time You Were Most Stressed How to Cope With Stress

SPECIAL FEATURE

19

“C

oming from KIPP has definitely bolstered social stressors. The numerous new faces of students, teachers, and staff have alienated me both in and out of [the] classroom,”said Kung.

“I feel more isolated. Consequently, I feel more social pressures in this new environment.”

Freshman Gene Kung comes from KIPP Summit Academy, a charter school that provides an hour of study hall for students. They also take homeroom classes, forcing the same group of students to attend all classes as a unit. On the other hand, public schools, like AHS, are not as restricted and require students to interact with a new set of peers every hour.

“The difference between KIPP and Arroyo academically is that KIPP is more structured [and] more caring for the academic success of their students,” Kung noted.

KIPP’s emphasis on preparation for

academic success has prevented Kung from struggling academically. However, having the homeroom arrangement limits students’ interactions.

“Socially, it’s more repressed because students can only talk to [the same people] because most of the classes are with one specific group of people; that’s your homeroom, so you only talk to them throughout the whole year,” Kung said.

Kung thinks that he gets more chances to talk to people who are not in the same classes as him; thus, he can make more friends. As his first time studying in SLZUSD, Kung also said that he is more socially stressed than academically stressed in general.

“I guess I’ve tried to make friends mostly in the classroom environment where I would talk to partners and such, and I’ve talked more to the teachers just by having some non-academic talk with them,” Kung said. •

th

9

LEVEL SELECT: WHICH ARE YOU?

“M

y parents always, no matter what, force me to go to bed at 9, but they don’t really specify when I should wake up, so what I ended up doing was going to bed at 9 and then waking up at 4 or 5 in the morning [to study for my tests],” Karina Vong said.

Vong is a sophomore in Arroyo’s Health and Medicine Academy and also a member of the AHS debate team.

Vong feels that the stress she faces is different from the stress of her freshmen year; to her, it’s no longer about fitting in, but instead making the grade.

“It’s more academic pressure.

The classes themselves shouldn’t be stressful; it’s more like how badly I’ve been trying to succeed in that class,” Vong said.

But it is not just academics that stress Vong; extracurricular activities and parents also play a pivotal role.

Vong is just an example of how life gets busier during sophmore year, learning to get involved with clubs and actually focusing on academics.

“I’m one of the only people with debate experiences from middle school

20

SPECIAL FEATURE

actually, so it’s more pressure on me to kind of set the example even though I kind of unintentionally set the bar pretty high and it’s kind of stressful to maintain that standard.”Vong continued,“Parents, they put pressure on you sometimes and sometimes it’s a bit too much. It’s kind of funny because they want you to succeed right?

And you want to succeed and sometimes we would have conflicting views on how to succeed.”

At the end of the day however, Vong knows that the stress is not permanent and she copes with it in a variety of ways such as drawing and gardening.

“I like gardening a lot. I like to take my anger out on the earth; it’s really good for me,” Vong said.

To anyone who has a hard time dealing with stress, Vong has a saying that she repeats to herself during times of tension and frustration. “...There’s still a bottom of a barrel; that’s what I always tell myself. You could always do worse, it could always be worse. So as long as you’re alive and as long as you’re trying, things can and probably will get better,” Vong said. •

th

10

th

11

“L

ast month I had five tests in one day plus work, and then planned out an event for my temple. I was also dealing with social drama. It felt like I was being pulled in every direction and I just couldn’t even think straight anymore.” This was a day in the life of junior Max Johnson.

Johnson explained that junior year was not as stressful as others might say because he enjoys having classes that he was able to choose.

“I actually think that stress can be good for you because that pressure can be used to keep you working with high standards, so you are always at the top of your game,” Johnson said.

However, it is overwhelming with extracurricular activities and work.

He uses BART to get to work and comes home at 8:30 p.m. on workdays. Johnson is also a part of the TREND leadership board, robotics team, and is an intern at UC Berkeley.

One student from each grade discusses what stress looks like for them and their peers.

“W

th

12

hatever mistake I make right now, I’ll learn from it, but it can also affect my future,” Cordero said. “[Because I’m a senior] I feel as if I have to fit a standard.”

Jasmine Cordero is stressed. Really stressed. As Student Director for Choir, Filipino Club president, and a hard-working senior, stress is a daily aspect of her life, and ever since senior year started, it has gotten worse.

With some college applications due in November, the huge workload has been pressing seniors to rush their responsibilities, such as FAFSA and paperwork for their applications, and cram their day with essay writing and studying. Although it may seem that only these seniors are stressed, their parents are as well.

“It kind of stresses out my parents more [than they already are] to see that I’m stressing. They want to see me happy and doing well, but my stress causes me to have negative thoughts about myself. I get really anxious and overthink a lot,” Cordero said.

She is not alone in her ordeals. Her

“I gotta make sure I have a ride or money to pay for BART, and then after that, be able to finish all of my homework every night; that’s what usually stresses me out,”Johnson continues.“Usually I will take a little time off to read a good book or take a nap. Naps are the greatest feeling in the world,”Johnson said.

Johnson also thinks being with his friends is a big help as they all go through stress and help each other out.

When it comes to home life, Johnson says he feels more secluded because he comes home late everyday and whenever he is home, he has a lot of work to do.

Johnson is a representation of stress as a junior because he goes through the struggle of balancing his life between school and work. Johnson wanted to end on a good note saying,“I think stress is something that can be well-managed as long as you choose to do something about it and not let it consume your life.” •

By Serey Nouth, Christopher Yalung, Steven Avalos, Samantha Wang Illustrations by Rizelle Jugarap close friends, who are also seniors, are going through the same things as well. As a result of this shared difficulty, they find ways to help each other through one another’s problems, making her stress a little bit easier to handle in the long run.

“My friends help both mentally and emotionally through life. They give me words of wisdom to help [me] make decisions.”

For most people in school, one of the greatest problems that they have is organization. As it turns out, a lack of organization can make your stress even worse, because of the fact that things are not as clear as they would be if they were organized.

“If I had to tell someone how to deal with stress, I think that certain systems of organization work. A big thing that I found effective was writing things down in something like a planner or a to-do-list to help manage your time,”Cordero said.

The delicate act of balancing college apps with other extracurricular activities is a laborious task to undertake...no wonder all these seniors seem to be so stressed. •

SPECIAL FEATURE

21

How How to to Cope Cope With With Stress Stress:

The The Time Time You You Were Were Most Most Stressed Stressed

Here a few helpful ideas to try and cope with the stress of daily life. Although these may not specifically work for you, there are still many other ways people are able to deal with their stress. Power up with a few of these stress-relieving remedies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

High stress situations and how they affected students.

By Wesley Waldrep and Cassandra Yuan “The time I was the most stressed was last year during finals. All my grades were slipping and we had a lot of projects due,” Senior Sophie Smith said

“One time I was very stressed was for [my] chemistry finals. I wanted to die. I was stressed because my grade depended on it, and if I got a B, my parents would get really mad,” Junior Sophia Duong said “My friend decided that it would be fun to make a prank phone call on her friend. Her friend saw it as a ‘threat’, even though we were just playing music, and called the police. I was sent to the principal’s office and was warned that it will go on my ‘criminal record’ and I could be suspended or expelled if her friend wanted further research on the threat. I didn’t focus at all for 2 days because of all the stress,” Sophomore William Ma said

“The time when I’m most stressed is when my girlfriend is hungry,” Junior Aira Cedula said

Look for the upside. Think of bad situations differently. View it as a way to achieve personal growth, rather than viewing it as a wasted opportunity or bad luck.

Photos | Wesley Waldrep

Eat healthy, well-balanced meals. We are made up of what we eat. If we put good in, we get good out. Impulsively eating junk food when you are stressed will ultimately hurt you and your body in the long run.

“When I had to do a 4th of July parade, I was really new to clarinet and I couldn’t play my notes,” Freshman Chelsi Nguyen said

Adjust your standards. Don’t expect to be a perfect person. If you live by unreachable standards you will always be disappointed.

22

SPECIAL FEATURE

drep

Don’t try to control the uncontrollable. Don’t stress out about things you can’t control. It just isn’t worth it if you know you can’t do anything about it.

Taking a break does not make you weak. Everyone needs a break every once in a while to regroup and collect your thoughts.

Build better relationships. The more you surround yourself with people who are willing to help you, the more support systems you have in high-stress situations.

Illustrations | Cassandra Yuan

Get plenty of sleep. Not only will sleeping help you feel better and more rested, it also will give your mind a break from whatever is stressing you out at the time.

Take control of your environment.

Avoid things that stress you that you have control over. If the news stresses you out, turn off the TV. If the internet stresses you out, turn off the device.

Exercise on a regular basis.

Exercising is proved to help stress by releasing endorphins in the body, so get moving!

The Wellness Center is open in D-3 to students who need a space to express their social emotional well-being.

School Counselor and Wellness Center Operator Alexis Horn, San Lorenzo Unified School District Social Worker Laura Mitchell-Morton and Keyra Stafford have created a space for students if they need to learn how to self regulate their emotions and get support for personal or academic stress. They are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday during periods 4-6. Here are a few ways that both Horn and Mitchell-Morton recommend to ease stress.

“I think one thing they can do is reach out to someone that is a “supportperson” for them,” Mitchell-Morton said

Photos | Wesley Waldrep

“You can do a grounding activity: you find five things you see, four things you feel, three things you hear, two things you smell and one thing you taste,” said Horn.“There’s a specific way to breathe to distract you. Breathe in for three seconds, hold for three seconds, breathe out for six seconds.

So you are focusing on counting instead of focusing on stressing out,” Horn said

SPECIAL FEATURE

23

Our Common Obstacle Students’ overstress hinders them from success.

Illustration | Vivian Liu

M

any students at AHS strive to leaving no time to spend with my family succeed. This calls for extra time and friends. Sometimes, I become extremely and efforts spent on building up out of touch with my family and friends’ their college resumes each day, from AP feelings and thoughts. I feel lost in my own assignments to extracurriculars. Additionally, territory, which only adds to my stress levels. some parents pressure their children into During the school day, I see many other overworking in order to receive exceptional students who are stressed just like I am; in grades in hopes of getting into Ivy Leagues. fact, some students appear to be even more Often times, they become extremely prone stressed. Talking to my peers, I discovered to stress. Unfortunately, the high levels of that many students pull all-nighters to stress may be taking a toll on students’ study for exams or to finish projects and performances in school. other assignments.

Ever since school The following day, STAFF EDITORIAL started in August, they end up making I have been reliant mistakes on their on caffeine. Due to work due to their OPINION OF THE DRY GULCH my regular sleep inability to focus.

GAZETTE EDITORIAL BOARD schedule of 1:00 a.m.

After seeing the to 7:00 a.m., I wake negative impacts up craving for coffee or similar energizers on students’ performances in school, I make every morning. During my afternoon an effort to de-stress. By working more classes, I often zone out during lectures efficiently, I began to create time for myself; due to fatigue, and I am unable to give I listen to music, nap, and talk to my friends my best efforts, which is shown through and family. Stressing and piling myself with my grades in several classes. Although I workloads will not help me achieve in school; strongly wish to sleep earlier, my piles of in fact, it has the opposite effect. To enhance AP work are preventing me from doing so. performance in school, students should be On top of being academically stressed, efficient and set aside time for oneself while I found it difficult to retain social working hard. Students should be productive communication. In junior year, “free time” and set out “me-time” to do the activities they does not exist. When I am not participating in enjoy and spend time with those they love. extracurricular activities, I am busy catching Succeeding in school is important, but your up on the concepts being taught in class, health and happiness will always come first. •

24

OPINION

DGG Dry Gulch Gazette

The Dry Gulch Gazette is an open forum for students and does not necessarily represent the views of Arroyo High School or of the San Lorenzo Unified School District. We want to provide our readers with entertaining, informational, and relevant stories that will be worth their time. We intend to produce accurate and unbiased reporting, and we will therefore work to correct any significant mistakes. You should contact us at AHSGazette@gmail.com if you can find such a mistake in this publication. You may also email us to submit a letter to the editor, but we reserve the right to edit letters for length or accuracy. Letters will be rejected or published at the discretion of journalism staff.

Editor-in-Chief: Janice Lee Managing Editors: Bethelehem Engeda, Jeanette Hernandez, Cassandra Yuan Campus Editor: Calif Chen

Community Editor: Angela Peña Special Feature Editor: Trinity Mai Opinion Editor: Vivian Liu Arts and Culture Editor: Andrea Marie Lomeli Dam

Sports Editor: Steven Avalos Art Directors: Nanda Bean, Rizelle Jugarap Business Managers: Symone Stokes, Britney Torres

Copy Editor: Samantha Wang Gazette Staff Writers: Taliilagi Agatupu, Olivia Leigh Doctor, Rafael Duran, Cruz Fragoza,Daniel Grafil, Makahla Knight, Anthony Martinez, Shaila Mendez, Joseph Meyer, Serey Nouth, Valentin Ochoa, Mirella Ramirez, Jacqueline Rico, Kayara Rocco, Anvin Tang, Melanie Thai, Michael Thornton, Wesley Waldrep, Vivian Wong, Christopher Yalung, Vivian Yan

Staff Adviser: Samved Sangameswara

Solution for a Future Homework Club A place that should better help struggling students.

By Nanda Bean

Illustration | Tali Agatupu

T

his year, our school’s math department created their own homework clubs by finding time after school. They will help you with all the math courses; each teacher in the math department teaches a math course and will help you on any problem that you are stuck on. Math has created a program where students can get help for the exact math class they need. There is an individual homework club for every math subject, there is a Math I, Math II, Math III, Math Modeling Homework clubs.

This is what our new homework club should look like: a classroom with students getting help from our teachers on a subject we are stuck on. The combined homework club should have teachers from every subject available to help students.

Having access to teachers at homework club is a necessity because it is frustrating, for example when there is only one teacher at homework club and you go there to get help on Physics, but the teacher teaches English.

Homework club would be useless without all

teachers to help you, it would feel more like you are getting babysat after school, while waiting for your ride home, than getting help on what you are struggling with.

The new homework club at AHS should have enough teachers to not only supervise the club, but also to engage with students who need help. If we can get a variety of teachers at homework club, it will be better than the old version. It is worth it to have multiple teachers that can teach all school subjects to students who need help for more than one class. One of the ways to pass your classes is to develop a good relationship between you and your teachers. This way, you can be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. In addition to getting help on your homework, you can also interact with other students who are also struggling. With these opportunities, you will be able to learn and grow in your understanding of the subjects as well as maintaining good relationship with your teachers and fellow students. •

The new homework club at AHS should... get a variety of teachers at homework club, it will be better than the old version

OPINION

25

Photo | Britney Torres

A Wake Up Call

Passionate leaders lead a path for a successful club.

By Andrea Marie Lomeli

E

very year, we start off anticipating Club Rush Week, where students can escape the stress of their classes and immerse themselves into what they are passionate about by joining clubs.

From the Filipino to the Gaming club, clubs provide an environment where you learn, excel, and make friends. Students use this platform to give impression of their talent, abilities, and gaining skills. Clubs create unity with students from many cultures and talents. A pattern has been occurring every year on the success of clubs, which leads us to wonder why some clubs on this campus fail while others succeed.

At AHS, students sign up for many clubs during Club Rush Week in need of some more extracurricular activities besides sports. Since colleges look for a student’s commitment, it is important to participate in multiple clubs and have an important role in them. This year, we have a total of 31 clubs.

Many students sign up for clubs at Club Rush Week, but little students actually commit to yearlong participation.

What can we do to balance the failure and success of clubs? From observing and

26

OPINION

attending clubs, I have noticed what can help clubs succeed; clubs that lack passion and commitment fail.

Clubs with passionate leaders tend to succeed more because of their elevated level of commitment. A club is an association of students who have commitments for their shared passion. Clubs that thrive have club members who are determined and share a message.

They express their passion through clubs ranging from community service and leadership to hobbies like art or cooking.

It’s essential for club leaders to be role models for club members which leads to club professionalism and good communication towards members. As long as club leadership continues to be up to date on their responsibilities, club members will naturally commit.

The level of passion and desire differs between failed and successful clubs. Students should join a club with commitment because they are necessary for this campus to create a strong community; without them, high school will not be the same. •

“From the Filipino to the Gaming club, clubs provide an

environment

where

you learn, excel, and make friends. Students use this

platform to give impression of their talent, abilities, and

gaining skills. Clubs create

unity with students from many cultures and talents. “

Photo Illustration | Valentin Ochoa

The Struggle of Student Employees

Students discuss the difficulties they have balancing school and work.

By Valentin Ochoa

B

alancing student life, social life, and work is a tiring and difficult task for a lot of students. Parents expect good grades, a social life depends on money, and everyone needs some decent sleep, but these things can be hard to attain with the hustle and bustle of high school life, especially for those in AP courses. Having a job can feel almost like leading a second life, keeping up with your classes and trying your best to be a regular student by day, and aiding the citizens of the world by handing them their extra large fries and milkshake by night.

Students can work for a multitude of reasons, to support themselves, their families, to save up for college, etc.

The first major problem that students who work have to overcome is properly managing their very limited time. With a job students are working 13 to 14 hour shifts, from eight a.m. to three p.m. for school straight to work until nine p.m. or 10 p.m. I work about 25 hours a week on top of school and it leaves me fairly time constrained. With this much

of the day eaten up, students have to plan ahead on how to deal with assignments and sometimes have to do things days or weeks in advance to keep up.

With such long work days, students with jobs are extremely exhausted as you would imagine, I know I am. According to the Center For Advanced Health, only about eight percent of high school students get the recommended amount of sleep (nine and half hours) due to the high workload and obligations outside of school including jobs.

On average, I only get about six hours of sleep a night, seven or even eight if I don’t have too much homework, and I know students who only get about six or seven hours of sleep a night due to work and stress, and some who sleep even less.

The stress of high school life coupled with outside obligations such as a job can have serious mental repercussions on students.

According to the American Psychological Association, 31% of high school students report feeling overwhelmed, 30% report

Stress in America _______________________ A survey from the American Psychological Association finds similar patterns of unhealthy behavior in teens and adults, especially during the school year (2014). _______________________

30% report

feeling depressed

31%

feeling depressed, 36% report feeling exhausted, and 23% reported skipping meals due to stress.

These statistics are for high school students without jobs, imagine these numbers for students who do have jobs. I know students who have felt overwhelmed due to work and school. I know students who have felt depressed due to work and school. I know students who have felt exhausted due to work and school. I know students who have skipped meals due to work and school. How many of you or your friends have felt the same way? I know I have.

Go to your employers and speak with them about the struggles you face. Speak to your teachers about the struggles you face. People have their own problems and their own reasons for why they do what they do, and I’m certain that they will be understanding and willing to help you out in your situation in whatever way they can, but it has to be you to make the decision to seek them out. •

report feeling overwhelmed

36% report

feeling exhausted OPINION

27

Photo | Rafael Duran

Gaming Club members and the president playing Super Smash Brothers in P4 during lunch on a Thursday. The new club mainly plays this game during their meetings.

Gaming Club Joins The Battle

The club describes the games they play and the restrictions invoked on them.

By Rafael Duran

I

n the gaming club you can play family- member of the club since he was a freshman. friendly multiplayer video games on the He joined the club because he has a passion Wii U and the Nintendo Switch. With for video games and love to have fun with my more than 10 club members coming friends. Outside of the gaming club, Jamiel to meetings, the gaming club is newly plays many Nintendo video games. refurbished.

Activities Director Jennifer Rodriguez, The club is limited in what games they is the one who approves which games and can play so they have only been playing Super Smash Brothers with very little mario Kart but they have been content is how long Doan with it. plays per week President of the video gaming club, Kien Doan, started this club so he could play video games with his friends.

Although, they need more support The overall cost of the materials financially in order to improve the used by the club is quality of the club.

There are meetings held every day except Tuesdays, during lunch in ASL teacher Vania Ellison’s room.

Senior Jamiel Sampson, has been a

28

50 hours

Over $350

ARTS AND CULTURE

gaming platforms will be allowed in this club based on guidelines given by the district and other events at the school.

“I mostly look at legal ratings but also making sure that outside of that they are school appropriate you know, the watching of, like the shooting and stuff like that. If it’s something that is questionable I will ask administration.”

The club waits for the approval of the PlayStation 4 because of the different games that are not on the platfrom they have been based on for the previous years. There will not be any M+ rated games in the club. Most violent games will also not be allowed.

Fortnite falls under this catogory and will not be available for play. Therefore, the gaming club is careful on what they play.

Doan believes that the future of the club is going to look forward to new games coming out like Super Smash Brothers Ultimate.•

Thursday, November 29th Friday, November 30th Saturday, December 1st Tickets: $5 in the Finance Office $10 at the door

SUBSCRIBE

If you are interested in subscribing to the Dry Gulch Gazette please fill out the form below and turn it in to room A9 or email AHSGazette@gmail.com for a digital form.

SUBSCRIBER INFO

Name of Subscriber: Email Address:

__________________________

______________________________

Phone Number:______________________________ Mailing Address:

_____________________________

_________________________________________ PAYMENT

The cost of an annual subscription to the Dry Gulch Gazette is $30 dollars.

After turning in this form you will receive an email linking you to an online payment sysem. Alternatively you can pay with cash or credit card at the AHS finance office.

If there any questions, issues, or concerns please contact faculty adviser Samved Sangameswara via email at ssangameswara@ slzusd.org.

All performances held at Arroyo High School’s cafeteria at 7 p.m.

Traditions in Thanksgiving recipes bring

By Kayara Rocco and Vivian Wong

T

hanksgiving is a national holiday. However, due to the diverse population in our community, many of the students say that they do not celebrate Thanksgiving the “traditional” way.

These recipes are from various parts of the world so the dishes are completely different from what is to be considered a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

Freshman Daryl Geronimo, a Filipino American, has leche flan as a traditional dessert.

Junior Miguel Peña is a Mexican American that looks forward to ravioli every year. Junior Michael Kakoullis, who is Greek, has the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, such as stuffing with Greek seasoning. Junior Blain Engeda, who is Ethiopian, celebrates the holiday with some Ethiopian dishes.

“Usually, we eat either a traditiional Thanksgivng meal or some type of Ethiopian food. We eat injera and doro wot, which is chicken and eggs in a spicy sauce,” Engeda said.

Engeda’s family eats doro wot on Thanksgivings as well as on special occasions.

“Although there is no particular story or significance to the dish, when I think of injera and doro wot, I think of a special event or a special occasion,” Engeda said.

This recipe has been passed down through the generations.

“My mom got it from her mom. Usually, when my grandma cooks food, my mom watches and started to learn,” Engeda said Engeda plans on learning the recipe in the near future.

“Soon I will be learning it from my mom.

During the holidays, we, as the kids, watch her as she makes the dishes,” Engeda said. •

30

ARTS & CULTURE

Engeda’s Doro Wot 8 6 5 4

chicken drumsticks hard-boiled eggs medium-sized onions tbsp Kibbeh (Ethiopian butter) 4 cups of water 3 tbsp berbere (blend of chili pepper and spices) 1 can of tomato paste 4 cloves of garlic 2 tbsp of ginger 1 tbsp coriander 3 tbsp of olive oil 1 pinch of salt 1 pinch of pepper 1. Cook the onions in the olive oil on low heat until transparent 2. Add Kibbeh, ginger, garlic, and coriander to the onions and continue cooking until the onions are soft 3. Add the berbere and tomato paste and cook for 15 minutes 4. Add the water, chicken, salt, and pepper and cook for about an 1½ hours on medium-low heat 5. Add the eggs and it is ready to eat

the Kitchen different cultures together.

Geronimo’s Flan

Peña’s Ravioli

Kakoullis’s Stuffing

12 egg yolks 2 egg whites 1 can of condensed milk 1 can of evaporated milk Sugar

Ravioli pasta (pre-made or

personally handmade) Cheese Sauce:

Tomatoes

Oregano

Garlic

Stovetop boxed stuffing 1½ cups of water ¼ cups of margarine or butter Oregano Garlic seasoning Basil Olive Oil

1. Combine all ingredients, except sugar, and mix 2. Strain the mixture 3. Melt sugar until golden brown and cover the bottom of tray (add more depending on sweetness preferences) 4. Let the sugar harden before pouring the mixture into the tray 5. Cover the tray with foil and steam for 30 minutes or until the flan is firm (check with a toothpick) 6. After cooling, refrigerate overnight or for at least seven hours before serving

1. Cook ravioli pasta 2. Make the tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes and season with oregano and garlic 3. Cover the base with tomato sauce

1. Bring the water and the margarine or butter to boil in a medium saucepan 2. Stir in the stuffing mix and then cover the mixture

4. Layer with ravioli pasta and add cheese

3. Remove the mixture from the heat and let it cook for 5 minutes

5. Repeat steps 1-4 until the pan is filled

4. Fluff the stuffing with a fork

6. Bake in oven at 325°F for 5. For the greek touch, add 45 minutes- 1 hour the olive oil, oregano, garlic seasoning, and basil to taste

Photo | Cassandra Yuan

ARTS AND CULTURE

31

Photo by Tali Agatupu Photo | Tali Agatupu

Seniors Vincent Ta, Jennifer Huang and Rawan Totah (left to right) are seen coloring their art pieces in Intermediate Art/AP Art in room S-8. They are taking high level art classes but are not pursuing it in art school.

A Path Not Taken AHS students are unsure about pursuing art in college or as a career.

By Tali Agatupu

A

career in visual arts requires career when art and design is all around passion and love for art which us.” Huang said. most of students at AHS have.

Senior Vincent Ta has also been But why do students not take the thinking about the path he wants to take opportunity to have a career in art. in the future like his career, college, etc..

Whenever visual arts or art school is “Yes, I have a passion for drawing mentioned there is a lot of negative and since 5th grade and I’ve loved it ever positive comments. Art to most people since. I hear that they’re not the best is usually taken for a hobby and never schools to go to and that you shouldn’t a career. Majority of seniors plan to go go to them. I get both positive and negative to college, but what about going to art comments about art. I hear that you school or majoring in art. shouldn’t pursue it and go to a regular The three seniors that love art, but college as everybody else, but I also hear are unsure, have that if you want doubt or do not to do something “I know art school is not want to go through you love, the do it. something that is easy according Don’t let others get the path of art school is Jennifer in your way.Yes, to my teachers that have Huang, Rowan I’d totally major in Totah and Vincent experienced it.” art,” Ta said.

Ta. They all have According to Senior Rawan Totah said different types of dataus.io, tuition paths they want, for in-state public they talked about schools are $8,204 their plan and which has grown opinion on the arts and art school.

1.99%. Tuition for out-state private school Senior Jennifer Huang talked about is $34,346 which has grown 4.46%. But applying to at school, and her thoughts also art school helps people who want to on art as a career and art school. go through this path. The number of visual “I am applying to an art school but arts graduates take a path for different art I’m not sure if I’ll choose to go because careers are 2 million graduates; this has it still seems like a risky path for me and grown 4.66%.

I’m not a 100% confident with it. Cost is Senior Rawan Totah,who has heard and also a matter too because of tuition and questioned about art school and art being a materials and housing. I don’t really hear good path for a career. about people talking about art school, “Although I love doing art, I wouldn’t I feel like they feel likes it’s not a real consider it a career that I am willing to take

32

ARTS AND CULTURE

or further in going to school to study it.”

Totah said.

Paths leading to a career in art is for some but it depends on their situation and opinion. Students are told different opinions on art and art school and their own as well.

Huang, Totah and Ta have their own path they want to follow, with or without art.

“They say it’s a hard career, basically saying that your taking a risk; it’ll work out or it won’t,” said Totah. •

Illustration by Tali Agatupu

Waking Creativity AHS alumni describe how AHS helped them find their passions in art.

By Bethelehem Engeda

“T

o be truthful, it was a struggle. experiences studying photography.

It wasn’t looked highly upon,” “I got into photography when I was in the Janessa Scoggins said, when military. Photography’s a great class; it helps speaking on her decision to pursue fashion you see the beauty and it’s in so many fields after high school. nowadays with marketing and advertising,” Scoggins isn’t following the traditional path Baughman said. of AHS graduates. While many of her former Another graduate of AHS’s Class of 2018 colleagues are going to college for STEM, or pursuing art is Angelica Aguilar. Aguilar, the workforce, Scoggins, a graduate of AHS’s currently a photography major at Chabot Class of 2018 and a freshman at the Fashion College, had similarly been inspired by Institute of Design and Merchandising Baughman.

(FIDM) in Los Angeles, is pursuing fashion as “Having Mr. Baughman as my teacher a career. helped me realize how creative you could get Scoggins details her childhood dreams of with [photography] and the many ways you being a model, and the difficulties she faced could use photography in everyday life.” trying to conform to ideals - which lead her to Aguilar’s photography experience includes her current pathway. a wedding, school events, an Oracle gaming “When I was little,” Scoggins said, “I always event, as well as many others. Having wanted to do modeling. I just fell in love with taken two Photography courses, as well it and I would always see models that were as now being a photography major, has 5’9” or 5’8” and I’m been a rewarding and not that tall so I passionate experience started thinking ‘Oh “Oh, what if I just create for her. what if I just create my own line and model for Baughman was my own line and honored to hear about model for it.’ So that’s it?” the impact he had kinda what got me Alumni Janessa Scoggins said made on his students into doing fashion.” and encourages other Scoggin also students to go into those attributes her love of fashion and photography fields and start off doing something simple. to the many electives at Arroyo, specifically “Just make an Instagram account or start photography. a blog...Take courses online or look at past “At first I wasn’t looking for a fashion fashion.” school; I was mainly looking for a business Scoggins hopes that in her future she will school because I wanted to start my own be able to create a successful fashion line of business and someday my own clothing line. her own in her future, while also continuing I took marketing with Ms. Charlton and did her experiences in photography. photography with Mr. Baughman just in case “I want to do a clothing line, photography I needed to be able to create my own photo on the side, but I really want to specialize in shoots.” modeling. I hope that it can be broadened Photography teacher Jeff Baughman who [the field] out instead of the average model.”• taught Scoggins at AHS recounted his own Top Photography Schools in the US*

Top Fashion Schools in CA*

1. School of Visual Arts (New York, NY)

1. Academy of Art University (San Francisco, USA)

3. New York University (New York, NY)

3. Otis College of Art and Design (Los

2. Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)

Q : Where are some good places you liked to do photo shoots around the Bay Area?

A: Anywhere that has a good scenery to go to is great with your outfit. It can be a wall background, grassy area, in a building. To take a good photo all you need is lighting and a good back space.

Q : What’s your favorite outfit or fashion look?

A: I don’t really have a favorite outfit or fashion look per say, but I like anything streetwear, business suit sets, matching sets, and anything that shows a little skin.

2. Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (Los Angeles, CA) Angeles, CA)

*According to Universities.com

Q : Who do you look up to for fashion?

A: I like Teyana Taylor and Rihanna’s looks.

But mostly Teyana Taylor.

ARTS AND CULTURE

33

Sports Insiders Fall flashback and winter preview.

By Vivian Yan Action Shot

Cristian Lopez tackles opponent during the senior night game against Tennyson.

Girls’ Golf Goes The Extra Yard Senior represents AHS golf team at NCS.

Girls’ Golf

A

34

s the rest of AHS’s Girls’ Golf team In addition to her parent’s support, the members retired their golf clubs and team’s dynamic was also a strong influence balls for the season, senior Laura on Engen’s individual performance.

Engen had another match to conquer: North “We’d all play better because we would Coast Section. encourage each other to do better, so I think Of the eight players on the team, Engen having that good team bonding experience was the only player advancing to NCS this really helped everyone’s game a lot,” Engen year, which was held in San Rafael at Peacock said.

Gap Golf Club on Monday, Oct. 22. It was not At NCS, Engen placed twenty-third out Engen’s first time advancing to NCS. of eighty-eight players, but only the top She also qualified last year, but this twenty players were considered for year’s qualification meant more further advancement. Although to her because she scored her disappointed, Engen was proud personal best, and it was her of how far she got. last season.

“I was disappointed, but I “It feels good because last played a good round and I got year I also made it, but this my NCS patch and free merch,” year it feels better because I Engen said. played my best round to get Following her experience i P ha at NCS, Holy Names University in. Last year I shot 95 to get in hoto T ie Illus but this year I shot 84,” Engen said. tration | Melan reached out to Engen to recruit her One of the factors that contributed for their team. They wanted her to be a to Engen’s success was the support from her part of theirw school because they felt that parents. they could improve her skills and promote “I used to have an old set of clubs, and her growth, a quality that Engen appreciated they just weren’t helping my game, so they of the school. [parents] took their time to find a place and “They talked to me and said that I wasn’t spend the money to get me better clubs, the best player, but with their help they can allowing me to play better,” Engen said. help me do better,” Engen said•

SPORTS

Photo | Daniel R Grafil

Transition to Winter

Winter sports athletes on the upcoming season.

Preview Girls’ Basketball “I’m going to take more of a leadership position and get my team hyped up before every game, and they’ll be motivated on the court unlike last year,” senior Mya Mejia said.

Girls’ Soccer

“Teamwise, I’m excited for team bonding, to meet new girls, to play games, and try to make NCS,” senior Alexis Mitchell said.

Boys’ Wrestling

“I’m most excited for state because I wasn’t prepared last year, but I am very determined and prepared this year,” senior Hussein Abushi said.

Behind the Sport: Powerlifting

Athletes discover themselves and their limits.

By Calif Chen

Photo | Christopher Yalung

Junior Alisha Naraves warms up by deadlifting 225 pounds at a local gym.

T

o Senior Paul Paneitz, powerlifting is more than just a sport.

“Powerlifting is a strength sport.

It consists of three lifts: bench, deadlift, and squat. There are coaches to determine if you did a good lift. You get a red light if you do a bad lift. Once you get three green lights, you have the opportunity to move to a higher weight,” Paneitz said.

Powerlifting is not a varsity sport at our school. Athletes who compete have to find their own club or coach in the community.

Paneitz started powerlifting 3 years ago and his personal total is 1,200 pounds: 315 pounds for bench, 380 pounds for squat, and 505 pounds for deadlift. Compared to Paneitz, junior Alisha Naraves started powerlifting this year and she has a record of 265 pounds for deadlift. Because powerlifting is a year-long sport, those who powerlift have to balance school and multiple sports in one season. However, Naraves thinks that the sacrifices are worth it in terms of the benefits that she gets and the self-confidence that she gains through the sport.

“Powerlifting makes you stronger and makes you feel good about yourself. People get to know you better. You can represent yourself in different ways outside of school.

You get to meet new people and travel. Plus you get to accomplish something that you have never done before,” Naraves said.

Powerlifting not only helps athletes gain self-confidence and friendships, but also allows athletes to express their emotions.

“I use powerlifting as an outlet to compete and get my emotions out,” Paneitz said.

However, there are many qualifications when it comes to passing a lift. This may be frustrating for athletes when they hold different opinions from their judges on their performance.

“Powerlifting made me think a lot better. It made me believe in myself.”

Junior Alisha Naraves said

“I get frustrated when I don’t pass the lifts that I think I should have passed. But it is up to the judges. You get a red light if they think your depth is not good on a squat, if your back was not straight enough on the deadlift, or if your butt is not touching the bench when you are benching. When this happens, I have to constantly try to prove

myself and not make any excuses.”

Though there are many challenges and frustrations in powerlifting, overcoming these challenges allows athletes to gain perseverance and patience.

“Powerlifting is not about lifting weights.

You also have to cut down to a certain weight level. It takes hard work to get to where people are for lifting. You need perseverance,” Naraves said.

Paneitz also shows that he gains patience and determination through overcoming physical limitations.

“When it comes to strength sports, there is a point where your body can’t go any further. For others and I, our limit is 300 pounds. When you reach that point, you have to microload to lift more weight using plates that are 1, 1.5, and 2 pounds. It’s not easy. It takes a long time and patience,” Paneitz said.

Through powerlifting, both Paneitz and Naraves are able to gain a better understanding of themselves and their abilities.

“Powerlift made me think a lot better. It made me believe in myself. Before I would be like ‘I can’t lift this weight because I am a girl.’ But now I go in with the mindset that ‘if you don’t do it, you never know your full ability, ’” Naraves said. •

SPORTS

35

Triple Threat The struggles behind playing three sports.

nv in

Ta ng

By Anvin Tang and Joseph Meyer

to Pho

36

SPORTS

| ns tio a r st I ll u

A

W

ith the winter season rapidly approaching, students who played fall sports previously and plan to do a winter sport must now make the brisk transition from sport to sport. However, what are the potential effects on athletes’ personal and academic life by playing multiple sports season after season?

“It’s a lot to put on your plate to worry about sports and to do well academically as well,” Sainez said.

Junior Rigoberto Sainez has been doing cross country, soccer, and track for almost three years. He feels that there are conflicts between allocating time for sports and allocating time for academics in addition to finding time for other personal activities.

“In my Instagram [biography], I put ‘I can’t, I have practice’, and I mean that truly because sometimes my friends are like ‘oh let’s hang out after school,’ but I can’t because I pretty much have practice every single day of the school year,” Sainez said.

Last year, according to the Athletics Director Andrew Waranoff, out of the 507 total athletes on campus, only six of them played three sports. In terms of time, many sports overlap when higher level competitions cross into the next season like with North Coast Section (NCS) competitions during the first two weeks of November and the second and third week of February. In addition, these athletes only officially do not have practice over the weekends, most holidays, and breaks. However, this doesn’t take into account the amount of unofficial practice that takes place to excel in each of their respective sports. Coach Michael Gomez, the head coach for both cross country and track, finds the time commitment to be

Seasonal Conflicts

very admirable among his athletes.

“These kids are dedicated. It’s a lot, the amount of time in and out of practice that these students put in. Especially with how smart all these young kids are it’s really incredible,” Gomez said.

Senior Netzali Can has been playing three sports: cross country in the fall, soccer in winter, and track & field during spring since her freshman year. In Can’s situation, she has been competing at multiple varsity levels while taking as many AP classes as possible every year. She feels that not only does playing so many sports cut into her time, but it also has many physical tolls.

“These kids are dedicated.

It’s a lot, the time in and out of practice that these students put in.”

Coach Michael Gomez said

“It would be like I won’t have enough energy to really do a lot of my homework or do it well, or it would be hard to meet with my teachers if I have questions because after school I’m booked and if they’re not there at lunch then I can’t really go,” Can said.

Academic conflict is not the only issue that comes with playing three sports. Interference between sports is also a prevalent issue that arises especially when competing at higher levels.

“A lot of my sports overlap and so at the beginning of my freshman and sophomore year, it made it hard to, especially my freshman year, continue playing [subsequent] sports

because if I went to NCS for cross country then I didn’t start on time for soccer and then I had to start on JV and work my way up,” Can said.

Tryouts are held during the first week or two of the season and they are used to determine the level at which an athlete plays or performs. The problem arises when an athlete, particularly new or freshman athletes, miss those tryouts because of NCS or other post-season competitions from the previous sport. Can is only able to jump straight into soccer at a varsity level because of her performance from past seasons and her rapport with her coach.

However, while time, effort, and energy are all detrimental factors, Can also sees things in a different light and believes that the sports she plays have a very important role in her life.

“You could say that I could go home and do my homework, but really when I get home, am I going to go straight to doing my homework or am I just going to rest for a couple hours?

I think doing sports after school makes me more productive than I would be if I didn’t do sports….I have more of a fixed schedule,” Can said.

While playing three sports has the ability to take away hundreds of hours of time and have widespread effects on both an athlete’s personal and athletic life. Can attests that even the hardest and most difficult tasks quickly become routine after years of doing it.

“It’s gotten easier to manage, I think most of the difficulties came from my freshman and sophomore years, it’s not really so difficult past that point because I got used to it,” Can said. •

On top of the other issues presented, the overlapping between seasons is another major issue that pops up twice every year, most commonly caused by North Coast Section competitions or other higher-level events.

2018 - 2019 8/6 Start of Fall Season

10/31 - 11/17 Fall North Coast Section

10/29 Start of Winter Season

1/28 Start of Spring Season

5/3 - 5/11 Spring North Coast Section

2/12 - 2/23 Winter North Coast Section

SPORTS

37

Virtual Athlete Student takes part in cyber athletics.

By Anthony Martinez

S

enior Alexis Perez had just finished his first round of the tournament, and his team had almost lost, however at the end they manage to pull through, finally passing the first round and moving onto the next, and then the next, and the next until finally he and his team found themselves the winners of the first day of the tournament.

Perez participates in tournaments, but not just any ordinary tournaments like soccer or hockey, he participates in online video game tournaments. Having participated in one just earlier this year and winning the first day of it, and coming in third the next day, also with more tournaments coming up within the next few months, people can see, in a way, what Perez has done for himself Just like normal sports, eSports has multiple leagues, some of the main ones being League of Legends World Championship, ESL, and Overwatch League.

The biggest one is mostly being ESL due to the amount of games they represent and the popularity of those games. This lead to the popularity of other games that aren’t League of Legends, such as Overwatch, Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Tom Clancy’s Photo Illustration | Anthony Martinez Rainbow 6 Siege. Most major eSport players usually make their money from sponsors Senior Alexis Perez playing the popular online game League of Legends. and tournaments, where players get paid Perez spends his time playing in preparation for another tournament. $1,000 - $5,000 dollars a month, top players sport, some say it is while others disagree. making somewhere around $15,000 a month, barely beat them, it was tough.”

Another League When asking Perez on his thoughts of excluding prize money of Legends player Esports and his thoughts of whether it is a they may get. is senior Hung sport or not, he has this to say What Perez played “It is definitely a real Huynh, who also “It is definitely a real sport, it has a large in this tournament competed in the viewership and other people compete in it, was an online game sport, it has a large viewsame tournament you also need to have good skills to compete known as League as Alexis, had in it at the higher end.” of Legends with a ership and other people this to say on the Even though in the end, Perez had came large player base compete in it, you also need topic of eSports, “I in third place he was still happy, he had fun of millions, during think esports is a and enjoyed the time he played with his the championship to have good skills to comreal sport, i mean friends having 43 million total pete in it at the higher end.” if track can be a “We lost our first match on the second viewers and 27 million Senior Alexis Perez said sport then this can day and I felt disappointed in myself because playing monthly, at be, it’s competitive i feel like i could have done better, after that the tournament Perez and requires i just wanted to at least make it to top three. played in, on the first teamwork and it I kept a good mindset and used that loss as day he seemed to meet has a lot of people motivation to make third place.” • some of these top of the line players, “The first game we had played was pretty watching it.”

A large topic surrounding the eSports hard, we had almost lost up until the last minute where we managed to come back and community is whether or not it is really a

SPORTS

38

Scholar Athlete: College Editon

Senior looks into playing college basketball.

By Britney Torres

S

enior Nikko Echalas is one of the many students at AHS who has been working hard throughout their entire high school career to be noticed by colleges and make others proud. He has been noticed by two colleges for his efforts in basketball.

Throughout his high school basketball career, he’s won awards such as First Team All League and League MVP. He has been playing basketball for 11 years now, starting off at St. Felicitas.

He got into playing the sport because of his sister. He enjoyed watching her play when they were younger. His mom was also someone who encouraged him to play. He gave it a chance, and pretty soon after he was doing very well.

Being recruited to a college requires a lot of hardwork and dedication. Echalas is one of the few students who has been noticed by colleges. He has been looked at by Cal State East Bay and Dominican University. To make this happen you must go through a process.

Coaches from the schools would come to his practices to watch how he played. After that he was invited to camps where they go to get a better view on he plays. To choose the school he wants to commit to he must also visit campuses.

“I want to go to a college that fits me in a classroom and be in a program where coaches and players care for me as a person not just a player,” said Echalas. Below are some questions that were asked to Echalas.• How much work did you put in to get to this point?

I worked extremely hard. During season I spend five hours in the gym just working out and doing a lot of shooting. I also run on the track a lot on my off time.

What do you want to accomplish in your college career?

I want to graduate in four years and also play basketball at the same time.

Do you see basketball as your career?

How important is basketball to you?

I love playing basketball. When I play I forget about everything else that is going on. Nothing else matters.

Is there anything you would like to say about your hard work?

Im happy to see my hardwork and dedication pay off. This is something I worked towards my entire life. I am excited to move on to the next level and achieve my actual goal. This is just a stepping zone to get where I actually want to be.

Yes, I see basketball as a career. Maybe not the NBA but there are things like overseas or in different countries so I would probably do that.

Most Recent Stats: Points: 27 Assists: 6 Rebounds: 5 (Per Game)

Awards:

MVP awards in tournaments since middle school 2016-2017: First Team All League 2017-2018: League MVP Photo | Britney Torres

Photo | Britney Torres

SPORTS

39

Celebrating the “Right” Way What Thanksgiving is like as a first-generation American.

By Jeanette Hernandez

T

hanksgiving is a perfect depiction of American culture. Not only do we love getting a week off of school or a paid day-off, we love the aroma of food taking over the house and spending time with people we love. As someone whose family has just began a new life here in the US, it seems hard to live up to the pictureperfect Thanksgivings I’ve grown up seeing in the media. I expected every traditional Thanksgiving to consist of sharing a meal with your loved ones and some form of family drama to occur.

As a child of buisness-owning parents, my childhood basically consisted of me being there all the time. Thanksgiving was a holiday that we were open, so we never really got the whole Thanksgiving experience.

While everyone else was celebrating Thanksgiving with their families at home having their meal, me and my brother were hanging out at the restaurant reading books or watching TV as if it were any other day. As soon as my parents sold the business, my brother and I were older but we still did not feel an obligation to celebrate Thanksgiving.

My current celebrations are usually going on trips with my family, or having a meal with my extended family. Not as one big group, but most of my cousins are just watching some movie in the living room as the adults are outside talking about adult stuff. This is what my Thanksgiving looks like.

We eat the apple pie and drink the cider, we have the love and the food yet it still did not feel right.

My experience seems to me that most Americans

40

don’t really know why we do this, just it’s a holiday that has been celebrated as a child, so they themselves have continued to do so. with their children As children we are taught that Thanksgiving is when Native Americans and pilgrims sat down, shared a meal, and had a moment of peace and kindness with each other. But once we get older, we learn that there were hundreds of thousands of Native Americans who were killed through genocide and smallpox. The reality of treatment of Native Americans hit us hard, although we never talk about it.

Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to not ignore our past. This is as much history as

it is current news, with these holidays, have fun with your family but also don’t forget where this holiday originally started.

As a first generation American, it’s hard having to live up to all these American holidays. All these expectations and I may never truly experience this holiday in the way our founding fathers wanted. That does not stop me though, as an American I will continue to celebrate this holiday, but in my own way. •

COLUMN Photo Illistration | Cassandra Yuan