March 4 Issue | Issue 5, Volume 2

What’s inside: The Phoenix Writing Contest winner

The Phoenix March 4, 2014

Fremont High School, Vol. 2 Issue No. 5

Drought leaves California in danger What can you do to help conserve water?

by Neha Mannikar

Arts & Entertainment Editor

It takes more than a drizzle to end a drought and despite the scattered showers throughout Feb., things still aren’t looking great for Sunnyvale.

According to the Santa Clara Water Valley District, the Stevens Creek reservoir, the closest reservoir to home, is currently at about 4.6% of its capacity. Though this is an increase from a lower 3.1% earlier in Feb., the reservoir is still 95.4% empty.

Even though sudden storms in early Feb. greatly benefitted other counties, the rainfall just missed Sunnyvale. There hasn’t been much rain this season at all, and added to a lack of snow in the Sierras, Sunnyvale is in a state of extreme drought.

Sunnyvale’s water supply comes from the Santa Clara Water Valley District, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and well-water.

The Santa Clara Water Valley District provides water to southern Sunnyvale, the SFPUC to the northern part, and the well water adds approximately 10% to the water supply.

But according to Sunnyvale Mayor Jim Griffith, water supply levels aren’t looking great.

“The reservoirs in the Santa Clara Valley Water District are at 54% of average, and they’re calling this drought the worst one in the history of the water district,” Griffith said.

“The SFPUC’s reservoirs are at 70% of normal. But more worrying for the SFPUC is that it depends on Sierra snow to keep full, and the snow pack is at 36% of normal, even after the heavy rain we just had.”

More than rainfall in Sunnyvale, water supplies depend on rainfall higher north, around the reservoirs, and snowfall in the Sierras.

“The reservoirs are

low already, and they will only get worse due to the lack of snow,” Griffith said.

“Based on what’s happened so far, we would need about five storms comparable to the one we just had, to bring the snow pack back to normal. But that’s just to restore the snow pack, and the reservoirs would still need to be filled.”

In addition to the lack of water, the drought has been causing more problems. Due to the dryness, many wildfires have broken out. And with the water shortage, these wildfires are harder to contain.

“At this time last year, the fire season had experienced zero fires,” Griffith said. “As of right now, this year’s fire season has seen over 300 wildfires. Also, wildfires are worse in a drought, because with the reservoirs being so low, it’s harder for the tanker airplanes to refill after dumping water on a fire.”

As for Sunnyvale parks, landscaping does use up a great deal of water.

Though the city is still unsure about the impact of the water shortage on city services, they will most likely reduce the time or amount of watering park plants receive. A common strategy is using droughtresistant plants. To conserve water, grass area that isn’t often used for walking can be replaced with wood chips. In the winter, the Las Palmas pond is not filled with water. And some construction projects have new requirements to use low-water trees and drought-resistant plants.

None D0-D4 D1-D4 D2-D4 D3-D4 D4 Current

1.43 98.57 94.18 89.91 62.71 0.0

Last Week 1/7/2014 3 Months Ago 10/15/2013 Start of Calendar Year 12/31/2013 Start of Water Year 10/7/2013 One Year Ago 1/15/2013

1.43 98.57 94.25 87.53 27.59 0.0 2.65 97.35 95.95 84.12 11.36 0.0 2.61 97.39 94.25 87.53 27.59 0.0 2.63 97.36 95.95 84.12 11.36 0.0 34.20 65.80 53.58 21.57 0.00

0.0

Statistics and photo courtesy of droughtmonitor.unl.edu *Table not up to date with date of publication.

Intesity D0 Abnormally Dry D1 Moderate Drought D2 Severe Drought D3 Extreme Drought D4 Exceptional Drought

A great help in the water crisis is recyclable water.

“Our water pollution control plant (WPCP) has the ability to recycle used water - to clean and filter it well enough for it to be used again in landscaping or other non-potable uses,” Griffith said. “We use recycled water to water landscaping north of Highway 237 in Sunnyvale.”

This recycled water is used for construction and landscaping, but is not drinkable. Sunnyvale, in partnership with Apple and the Santa Clara Valley Water District, plans to build more of these “purple pipes” to transport recyclable water along Wolfe Avenue to the new Apple construction.

“Apple will use Sunnyvale recycled water for landscaping,” Griffith said.

“And Sunnyvale will produce more recycled water as a result.”

The city is also offering rebates for those who take water-conservation actions.

“If you install low-flow toilets or high efficiency clothes washing machines, if you replace landscaping to reduce water, if you use ‘greywater irrigation’ and other similar things, the water districts will pay you money,” Griffith said.

And as the city takes precautions to mitigate the impact of the drought, so must the residents. The city recommends that residents reduce water usage by 10%. Depending on future drought conditions, this percentage may increase or become mandatory.

There are simple actions citizens can take to save water, including taking shorter showers. Griffith

offers a few tips on how water conservation can be applied to daily tasks. The dishwasher should only be started when it’s full, and clothes should be washed in larger loads. Aerators in sinks and flow reducers in showers also make a difference. And taps shouldn’t be left running unnecessarily, like when you brush your teeth. Even when you’re waiting for water to heat up in the shower, the water can be conserved and used to water the plants. Similarily, after boiling the pasta, the water can be cooled and used for plants, which means less sprinkler usage. Car washes should be done less frequently and all property leaks should be inspected and fixed.

It’s important to re-

member that though these actions may seem trivial, they do add up, according to Griffith.

“There are 146,000 people living in Sunnyvale,” Griffith said. “If each one saves only one gallon of water per day, then Sunnyvale would save 4.38 million gallons of water per month.

And that’s just with one gallon. The water districts say that it is not hard for every household to save 20 gallons per day. And if every household in Santa Clara County could save 20 gallons per day, that would save 13 billion gallons per year. Even a small action has a big result when a lot of people do it.”

Water conservation starts small, and it starts with you.

News

2

Mar. 4, 2014

Lunch on wheels: a hit or a miss?

by Marcus Saranglao Sports Editor

With the same quality of food being served for brunch and lunch, Fremont High School takes a new spin by providing the meals through a new system: food trucks.

The food trucks were created to co-exist with the current plans for remodeling the cafeteria, taking place for the next 18 months. School food service manager, Paula Lopez, runs the food truck by the 150s wing, while co-school food service manager, Santa Gurrola, is in charge of the food truck by the side of the library.

Both Gurrola and Lopez understand what to expect with these new changes in serving food.

The process of getting ready to serve food to students has increasingly become more difficult.

With the kitchen unavailable, food is prepared in the central kitchen at the

district office, not too far away from campus. According to Lopez, whichever meals are not readily prepared in time at the kitchen has to be prepared inside the food trucks.

Although these food trucks are pristine and brand new, there are some issues that dwell behind the front counter. Time management becomes more crucial, so the cafeteria ladies work faster compared to their work in the cafeteria, since the lines are much more longer.

“There are some struggles, but they’re a really good team so they manage to work it out,” a food truck server said.

In addition, the food choices are nearly scarce compared to the cafeteria which had much more variety. They serve popular staples such a pizza and chicken sandwiches, but the lack of choices can be discouraging.

“I see how the kids

Priya Lee | The Phoenix

THE food truck serves students during their lunch break.

could have limited lunch options, which could be frustrating,” language teacher and regular cafeteria eater, John Musser, said.

Some students express concern for the new way of serving food.

According to sophomore Kiran Kaur, she hasn’t experienced any positive changes with the food trucks, rather, feels indifferent.

Course selection changes

by Melissa Parlan News Editor

It’s that time of year again when the school year is spiraling to an end and returning students have to consider the classes they plan to take next year.

However, this year’s course selection will be the start of a new way to choose and sign up for classes.

In previous years, classes were chosen the year before, as class guidance counselors went into academic classes to talk to students individually about course selection. Students were then given a worksheet to plan out their requested classes and required to get parental approval by a signature.

This year and in future years, course selection will be done online by students through Infinite Campus during the week of March 10.

The library computers and computer lab will be open and supervised with guidance counselors throughout the week for students to go and complete their course selection.

Online course selection not only saves paper, but is also supposed to be more efficient and productive. The change was made to match the way other high school students in the district chose classes. It also prepares students for the future, familiarizing them with signing up for classes online.

“I feel that its powerful for students to go in and choose classes and get a taste of what its like to choose classes online,” Guidance Counselor, Lisa Freitas, said.

Online course selection does not mean more competition for classes, because the guidance team adjusts the master schedule around what students sign up for. However, it is really

“Me and my friend usually hang out in the cafeteria, but now we have no place to meet up or anything, so we usually go to the ASB room or the library room,” Kaur said.

Students like Kaur also view that the longer lines are eating up their lunch and brunch time, however they acknowledge that there are some sacrifices to be made for some-

thing greater: a two-story cafeteria.

To help out as an alternative for the food trucks comes the reopening of the snack shack. Once, being located outside the library, later located by the amphitheater, is now set inside the entrance of the large gym.

The snack shack acts like its implied, to provide an alternative for full meals

Sochi Winter Olympics

by Chris Peterson Staff Writer

Melissa Parlan | The Phoenix

GUIDANCE counselor Lisa Freitas presents the new system for selecting courses.

important that students sign up for classes the week the portal is open.

Because course selection is online, it is very finalized. Once students sign up for their classes on Infinite Campus, its harder for students to go back and change their schedule requests.

“After the portal closes, it’s out of students’ hands,” Freitas said.

That is why the guidance team’s biggest concern is informing students about their choices for next year.

There will be three events held in the week of March third, where students can get informed about their potential courses for next year.

On the fourth and fifth, the “school wide conversation” begins, where students can hear the options for the next step for a subject and hear unbiased information on them. During lunch on the fourth, an electives fair will be held in the large and small gym, where students can get the same information, in terms of electives.

The biggest and newest event, the Guidance Spring Course Selection Night, will take place on the sixth, in the large and small, where current students and incoming freshman, along with their parents are welcomed to talk to department chairs, teachers and fellow students about their academic and

elective options for next year.

New classes for next year include: Writing for Publication, Digital Electronics, AP Environmental Science, AP Studio Art, and PE Total Fitness.

With all of these informational events being held, it’s important for students to get informed about all the classes they are interested in taking as much as possible.

“The guidance counselors want make sure all the students have the guidance to make the right educated choices before we leave for the school year,” Frietas said.

If students decide after the first month of the school year that they want to drop out of a class and sign up for a new one, there is a very slim chance things will go in the favor of that student.

Because the master schedule is worked around what students sign up for, students are reserved a seat in their requested classes.

Students won’t be able to get a seat for another class.

“We hope that students get informed, follow through and take advantage for use opportunity to make own their own decisions,” Assistant Principal Lori Reihl said. “It’s time to make it happen. We encourage people to talk to teachers and guidance counselors and make the most of their education.”

by providing snacks such as chips, cookies, pizza sticks, corn dogs and sandwiches. The shop helps student needs for quick food on the go if they don’t have time for a full meal.

Although the silent majority shows dissatisfaction with the food trucks, there doesn’t appear to be a noticeable change in getting lunch off campus.

According to Dean of Students, Noe Ochoa, who holds confidential data that crunches the exact numbers of people who have been leaving off campus to eat lunch, there has been no significant difference of students eating out of school from both before and after the arrival of the food trucks.

Still, most students, feel indifferent for the addition of the food trucks.

But hey, we’ve got to get our food from somewhere, right?

After several years of organizing and planning, the Sochi Winter Olympics have been completed. The 2014 Winter Olympics were located in Sochi, Russia lasting from Feb. 7th through Feb. 26th.

Sochi was built for the Olympics unlike the past Olympic venues in which they had existing infrastructure to build on, as for Sochi was just a resort town surrounded with natural parks.

The Olympics were estimated to cost $51 billion, making it the most expensive Winter Olympics ever constructed.

The International Olympic Committee introduced 12 new events as well as reinstating India due to government corruption in the country, from being banned from competing. Of the 12 new events, four new events were set for women and men: ski halfpipe, ski slopestyle, snowboard slopestyle and snowboard parallel slalom and women’s ski jumping.

Three mixed team events were brought into the games consisting of biathlon mixed relay, figure skating team and luge team relay.

The opening ceremony began as an imaginary historical trip through the Cyrillic alphabet directed by a young Russian girl. The trip was themed around Russia’s significant historical events during the 20th century. It touched upon on, 1917 revolution, Joseph Stalin, Cosmonauts (Soviet astronauts) and war & peace. Toward the end, a red balloon was released symbolizing the end of the past and a start of a new era to come.

Irina Rodnina (Russian figure skater) and Vladislav Tretiak (Russian hockey goalie) ran the torch lighting the Olympic cauldron starting the games.

The US team did been doing well this olympics, placing in most events.

Sage Kotsenburg won gold for men’s snowboard slopestyle scoring 93.50. As well as being the first to win a gold medal in Sochi.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White won gold in couples figure ice skating, becoming the first Americans to do so.

Davis & White trained 17 years to get gold beating their rivals from Canada who received gold last games who now won silver in Sochi.

America filled the podium of

men’s freeski slopestyle as Joss Christensen won gold, Gus Kenworthy got silver and Nick Goepper received bronze.

On men’s freestyle skiing halfpipe David Wise won gold with a high score of 92 out of 100. Wise dominated the halfpipe performing 720-degree spins, front and back flips with spins, ski grabs and soaring 24 ft. in the air.

Jamie Anderson won gold for women’s snowboard slopestyle getting a 95.25 becoming the first to ever win in that event.

Women’s snowboard halfpipe was won by Kaitlyn Farrington receiving a 91.75 Ted Ligety won gold in men’s alpine skiing giant slalom being the first American to win gold in this event. Ligety won with the fastest time of 2 minutes and 45.29 seconds.

Problems Sochi faced involved apartment hazers, stray dogs, water issues, ice melting and anti-gay rights. Apartment hazers were due to poorly and rushed construction. The problems involved bathroom doors and toilets that didn’t function right. Stray dogs were rumored to slaughtered but animal activists came in quick to take the call of action, but Russian officials stated that they were just relocating them away from the tourist in Sochi. Water issues concerned the yellowing of the water questioned the quality of the water and Russia’s Olympic readiness. As well as rapid ice melting causing outdoor athletes to acclimate to the slushy snow. Anti-Gay rights have been by far the biggest issue in these Sochi Olympics. The main issue people face about gay rights in russia is the culture shock, since Russia is a homophobic country.

The closing ceremony had performances from the Bolshoi and Mariinsky ballet’s (two of Russian ballet companies). The Russian national anthem was sung and led by Valery Gergiev (famous Russian conductor and opera company director) incorporating a children’s chorus. Russian athletes won had won medals joined in the center of the stadium to create five rings. As a joke the athletes purposely didn’t open one of the the five Olympic stars as to mimic the opening ceremony technical difficulty.

News

Mar. 4, 2014

Black history month

How do Fremont students pay tribute?

by Hauraa Aalabdulrasul Opinion Editor

With the start of Feb. came the start of Black History Month, an annual celebration of achievements

by African Americans and recognition of their successes.

This month was created in 1926, by Dr. Carter G. Woodson who is also known as the Father of Black History. He chose the month of February in order to honor the birth of Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass.

Still to this day, his teachings haven’t been forgotten by schools and communities nationwide who organized events that celebrated historical achievements by African Americans.

In San Francisco, events celebrating Black History Month such as the “Rare Rock ‘N Roll” and “Art Exploration for Kids” took place. Richie Unterberger, American writer and journalist, presented “The Golden Age of Soul” at the San Francisco Library for the “Rare Rock ‘N Roll” event. During the “Art Exploration for Kids”, children learned about Rosa Parks’ courage when faced with discrimination.

However, unlike other schools and places, Fremont did not sponsor or create any events to honor Black History Month. It was a surprise to many students that some form of celebration by the students or staff did not take place.

“It is a little disappoint-

Copy Editor

With the Practice Scholastic Aptitude Tests (PSAT) done and scores having already been distributed, it’s time for SAT and American College Test season.

The SAT, a standardized test, and the ACT is taken by mostly juniors and seniors pursuing a college education.

Some colleges request having both SAT and ACT scores, while others require one or the other.

The SAT is a 2400-point test, divided into three sections: Critical Reading, Mathematics and Writing. Each section is worth 200-800 points. The test is overall three hours and 45 minutes, with 10 sections, each being 20-25 minutes long. According to the College Board, the SAT measures literacy and writing skills that are needed for academic success in college.

The Phoenix 1279 Sunnyvale Saratoga Rd. Room 76 Sunnyvale, CA 94087 (408)522-2400 thephxnews@gmail.com Managing Editor Alex Bernauer News Editors Melissa Parlan Ashley Chavez Sports Editor Chau Nguyen Marcus Saranglao Arts & Entertainment Editors Hauraa Aalabdulrasul Neha Mannikar

Photo courtesy of dogonews.com

ing not to see the school put in more effort to honor African American achievements,” senior Anchal Takier said. “This school is so accepting of other races and ethnicities, so I expected this month would be honored in some way or form, but it wasn’t.”

It is a little disappointing not to see the school put in more effort to honor African American achievements.

Anchal Takier What came as an even bigger surprise to many was that the Black Student Union didn’t do anything for this month.

“I actually expected to see something about African

Americans this month by the BSU,” senior Kenia Duenus said. “Maybe a poster or some type of presentation in the library, but there was nothing.”

The BSU has not done anything this month because they have been inactive and did not plan anything for the month.

Also, the history department did not plan any celebrations or events to honor African Americans.

“We think it is offensive to try to force the history of any group into one month, meaning we ignore their contributions the rest of the year,” history teacher Brian Irvine said.

Instead of focusing on black history in a specific month, the department chooses to bring in the contributions of the race and how to achieve equality throughout the entire year.

“Black History month may have been a good idea

30 years ago, when history books did not have anything about Black history,” Irvine said. “But over the last 30 years we have really changed the way we teach Black History. We don’t just focus on one group at a specific time, we are teaching all the stories, not just black stories.”

Despite the school’s reasoning for not doing anything specific for black history month, some students still believe some form of celebration should have of taken place throughout February.

“It’s upsetting that the school doesn’t do anything during the month of February because it is important to take some time to recognize African American heritage,” Stephanie Martinez, senior, said. “When black history month comes up people only think of Martian Luther King Jr. but there is so much more.”

Student guide for SAT and ACT

by Sonya Jindal

3

The ACT is a 36-point test divided into four primary sections: English, Math, Reading and Science. Each section rages from 35-60 minutes long, 40-75 questions per section, with an essay for the writing portion. The ACT is accepted nationally. The ACT is a standardized test for high school achievements and college admissions.

To prepare for each test, SAT and ACT prep classes are provided for students. Many schools offer programs to their students with discounted prices so they are able to afford it.

“Fremont partners with programs such as Princeton Review and Revolution in order to accompany prep classes for the students to allow them the chance to get ready for their upcoming tests,” Lorena Villagomez, college guidance counselor, said. “I recommend studying six to eight weeks in advance of you upcoming test, there-

fore when you receive your test scores you know what to focus more on for the next test.”

Other times, outside programs offer deals and hold prep classes over summer or after school.

To sign up for the SAT, go to sat.collegeboard.org, make an account and sign up for an upcoming SAT test date. To sign up for the ACT, go to actstudent.org and repeat the steps stated above.

The SAT registration fee is $51, while the ACT registration fee is $36.50 without the writing portion and $52.50 with the writing portion.

Schools usually don’t have a preference in either of the tests. Many east coast schools prefer the ACT, while most UCs and CSUs don’t have preference regarding the tests.

“The only school that has explicitly said they prefer one test over the other is Cal Poly, who prefers the ACT

over the SAT,” Villagomez said.

There are no specific point range averages that colleges look for. Each school has their own standard and therefore their own averages.

“For example, Berkley’s average ACT is a score of 31, with their SATs being a score of 2076; where as Santa Cruz’s average ACT is a score of 26, with their SAT’s being a score of 1793,” Villagomez said.

On your test date, you should bring two pencils, an eraser, a scientific calculator, your test registration ticket, a form of identification and a snack for the break times.

Before your test, you should visit your test website and confirm you’re signed up for the test and make sure you’ve printed out your ticket or you will not be able to take the test. Make sure you pack all your items in your bag the night before, set your alarm and sleep early.

Opinon Editors Kayla Layaoen Jasmine Salik Art & Design Editor Kristina Lechuga Copy Editors Sonya Jindal Juan Martinez Business Manager Sarah Arkoh Lead Photographer Priya Lee Photographers Elliot Lehman Briana Castillo Staff Writers Gaby Anaya Tatiana Castillo Mike Capovilla Marinn Cedillo Chanel Johnson Savanna Kiene Joanah Nguyen Alex Noyes Chris Peterson Sergio Rodriguez Nicole Stibbard Adviser Ms. Stacey Stebbins The Phoenix, protected under the California Education code, is a public forum for the students of Fremont High School. The Phoenix staff will publish features, editorials, news, and sports in an unbiased and professional manner.

Editorials are the official opinion of The Phoenix. Opinions and letters are the personal viewpoints of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Phoenix.

All content decisions are made by the student editors, and in no way reflect the official policy of Fremont High School, nor the opinions of the administration, faculty, or the adviser.

Business advertisements are accepted in The Phoenix.

However, The Phoenix reserves the right to deny any ad. Those interested in running advertisements can call the Business Manager at (408)522-2400, or email thephxnews@gmail.com.

Lettters to the editor and questions for the advice column, may be submitted to room 76, Ms. Stebbins’ mailbox, or emailed to thephxnews@gmail.com. Identities of those who submit questions will remain anonymous. The staff reserves the right to edit letters to conform to styles and policy. Letters to the editor will be published at the discretion of the staff.

The Phoenix is the official student newspaper, and is distributed free of cost to the students. The Phoenix publishes eight issues throughout the school year.

Opinion Something every teenager needs...

Mar. 4, 2014

4

by Sarah Arkoh

Business Manager

R

espect starts at home.

Growing up, my parents repeated this phrase endlessly and it’s true. If you can’t respect your family, what makes you think you’re going to respect total strangers? You also won’t be able to earn respect from others.

We all started out as scared little five year olds, going to our first day of kindergarten with our superhero/Barbie backpacks.

We were ready to tackle the world. That is, after we let go of our parents’ hands. Most of us were quiet that day, politely answering questions when we were asked and sharing crayons with our fellow classmates.

But as we went through school, things changed. Remember that kid in the fifth

grade who always talked back to the teacher and made fart noises whenever the teacher sat down? We all laughed, boosting that kid’s ego and angering Mrs. Teacherlady.

You could walk into any middle school classroom and find a room full of preteens rolling their eyes and talking back to the teacher. I thought it may have just been the preteen years but now that we’re in high school, we still haven’t grown out of it.

A recent poll by Harris Interactive Incorporated, a New York research firm, revealed that only 31% of students today respect their

teachers. That respect can be considered as listening to directions, speaking when asked, treating others how we want to be treated, being on time to class and many other things.

“Becoming a teenager brings with it a host of new emotions, attitudes and behaviors,” an article from Essortment.com read. “As kids age 13 to 19 and move from childhood to maturity, they often experiment with language to express their boundaries and talk back to parents in ways that are inappropriate.”

While becoming a teen does release hormones that cause us to act out, that doesn’t make it right. Teachers and those in authority feel hurt when kids show disrespect in class. This behavior may not be personally aimed at the teacher but it is still inappropriate.

Treating others how we want to be treated also applies to teachers. Because of

unruly children, more and more teachers tend to be disrespected in the classroom.

School corporal punishment, or inflicting pain on students as a means of punishment, is currently legal in 19 U.S. states. Teachers are allowed to use paddles, whips, canes and any other objects they feel fit for punishment.

While I don’t feel this is an effective means of punishment, it certainly limits the amount of disrespect shown in schools. Teachers in states that prohibit corporal punishment, such as Calif., are limited in ways they can punish students. They often resort to sending kids out of the classroom and sending kids to the office as means of punishment.

Some of us can be unintentionally disrespectful. I know I have found myself on a number of occasions calling my teachers “dude” or “man.” And

this is because the line between adult and child is often blurred inside the classroom. We as students contribute towards this and so do our teachers. Teachers often mingle with us in the classroom, causing us to view them more as a peer than our teacher.

There are a number of teachers here at FHS and in other schools who feel the need to be “cool” and mingle with their students.

This feeds into the ideology that our teachers are also our peers. The way we speak to our peers is not how we should speak to our teachers.

I am proud to be a part of a school where most students have a tremendous amount of respect for their teachers. While it can be easy to be disrespectful in the classroom, we have to remember that our teachers give up a lot for us, inside and outside the classroom.

Respect is very impor-

tant inside the classroom and it is also important in our everyday life. It is important for us to be respectful to everyone we encounter. Being kind, smiling, using clean language and simply listening are small ways in which we can show respect to those we meet.

Manners also go hand-in-hand with showing respect. The number of times I’ve seen people grab food from the lunch ladies or the student store without saying “thank you” is kind of scary. We were all raised to say “please” and “thank you” when someone does something for us. Just because we’re older, doesn’t mean we leave that idea at home.

There are a number of ways in which we can gain respect. Honesty, integrity, being a role model and respecting ourselves are all good traits.

But the only way we can gain respect is if we’re willing to give it out.

Pay up, social media

by Nicole Stibbard Staff Writer

R

ecently, Senator Tom Udall came together with eight other democratic senators and proposed a new legislation that will prevent major providers from blocking or discriminating against online content, but these new rules may cause problems for these selected websites users.

These websites are popular solely becasue they are free, so when you add a price, that will definitley turn people off from using the websites.

In Jan., the Federal Communications Commission was challenged

by Verizon and was forced to diminish the rules that make the content and information on the Internet “neutral”. There are many fears about what this new ruling means and what it will cause. Because of these new “changes”, carries might be allowed to charge more for popular Internet

websites, such as Twitter and Netflix.

I think these new changes will have the selected websites users to attempt and find other websites to use that will cost less or maybe cost nothing at all. The popular websites that this federal legislation will affect are surely the most popular ones. This is the worst thing for these websites. If prices increase on some of the most websites, less and less people will use them. These websites are popular solely because they are free, so when you add a price, that will definitely turn people off from using the websites.

This generation is all about social media. When you add prices onto the most popular social media involved websites, what do you expect to happen, besides people leaving the website? I certainly wouldn’t continue using a website that began to charge me more than it should be.

On the other hand,

there could be a benefit to this federal law being passed, which would be the decrease in unnecessary Internet interaction. In this day and age people will send each other things over some type of social media website whilst they’re in the same room.

If these websites adapted prices, I doubt many people would continue doing this, therefore they’d be “forced” to verbally interact or find new, free social networks.

Prices for social media would mostly be forced to drop, since people won’t want to pay the amount they’ll be asking for. Then, once users begin to pay the amount will rise again; I predict it’ll be this constant back and forth until they remove the prices all together.

But since it’s the FCC, protesting won’t be enough to keep this law from passing. Hopefully, the general public’s want to not pay will get it abolished if it’s ever passed, better yet abolished before it is ever passed.

Although with the people of day, they would do anything for their precious social media sites.

Hopefully this federal legislation will not pass.

Who wants to pay an extra five dollars to binge on our favorite shows on Netflix?

OPINION

Mar. 4, 2014

Inconvenience for all

by Alex Noyes

byGaby Anaya

R

R

Priya Lee | The Phoenix

five minutes until the bell rings. Although I haven’t been late to class since the construction has occurred, there is definitely more of a time crunch to wake up, eat breakfast, brush my teeth and get to class on time.

Typically the traffic clears up after passing the line of cars waiting to drop students off at the side parking lot, but now with all the traffic concentrated in the back parking lot, I end up parking with barely enough time to go to my locker and walk to class.

The main inconvenience for many students at Fremont, is the fenced off part of the forties wing and the area around the ASB room. Simply walking to my locker to get my binders and lunch throughout the day

Ask Esteban

by Esteban

Advice Columist

Q

Heart breaker Staff Writer

Staff Writer

ecent construction on Fremont High Schools cafeteria, which is expected to finish by Fall 2015 has affected much more than just hungry students at brunch and lunch.

The project is projected to cost around 22 million dollars, and finish by the start of the 2015-2016 school year, enforcing some extreme changes on campus.

Not only was the cafeteria torn down, but during this time of construction, the entire 30’s wing and side parking lot were fenced off and closed.

What makes this construction such an inconvenience? For parents, staff and student drivers especially, the kids that were usually dropped off and picked up at the side parking lot before and after school had to be dropped off in the back parking lot.

Traffic was already bad enough before the side parking lot was closed, but with the additional cars trying to cram their way into the back parking lot, students were delayed getting to school on their normal schedules.

Being a student driver, these changes affect my typical schedule in the mornings and during the school day.

I often find myself waiting in a line of cars at the intersection of Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road and Fremont Avenue with

5

: I always find myself over thinking everything and I really try to stop myself, but I just can’t. What should I do?

A: Well, first, you have to think about what you’re thinking: is it something really important to stress about or is it a “what if” hypothetical situation? If it’s the first, then there are some personal factors to consider before stopping yourself: How will it affect me, others and is it something I should be worrying about? If you think you will do bad, you probably will do bad. Believe in yourself.

Just keep it cool and stay calm. Take a walk, and think about other things that would stress you less.

Q: How was your winter break?

A: After break, I went shopping with my boyfriend and I bought a great pair of Sketcher Shape Ups for only $200, but he bought me some red stilletos from Tom Ford for $100. We also spent time together just talking about the zits and pimples on our neck and how the pus looks really weird, but my mom scolded me because she doesn’t like my acne and my boyfriend’s either. She scolded me because she won’t let me hang out with my boyfriend without her. She had to put a GPS chip in my neck to make sure I didn’t leave her and I really hate it.

Q: How do I get a guy to notice me?

A: One thing you should do is just be straightforward.

Rejection hurts, but you have to build a tough skin and to build a tough skin, you should mummify yourself with duct tape.

has been a hassle.

I find myself constantly bumping into people in the halls on accident and getting death stares. The wide area of the 40’s wing was compressed into a confined, caged off hall for students and teachers.

The fences blocked off pathways for students trying to get to the ASB room and to the science wing. For me personally, I have classes in the ASB room and the science wing and I am forced

to take a long route to get to class.

This affects my schedule every single day of the week giving me less time to talk to people and to go to my locker during passing periods.

The noise due to constant construction destroying the 30’s wing, is disturbing inside and outside of classes throughout the school day and often caused distractions to students.

Unfortunately for the rest of this school year, there are many inconveniences due to the construction which affects everyone on and off campus, but these changes are going to impact Fremont’s campus for the future.

ed roses, chocolates, teddy bears, hearts and balloons.

You can guess what day it is, can’t you? Yes, it’s Valentines Day, that time of year when love is in the air and also negativity.

Every Valentine’s Day, students from ASB write every student’s name on a heart and posts it around the school, so their friends can write something nice on them. A gesture that is supposed to be really nice towards the students, or is it?

Although doing this is nice, it is also a way for someone to write mean and negative comments towards the student, or draw inappropriate things, which is counterproductive to the point of the gesture because it’s Valentines Day. Who wants to find their hearts and see inappropriate drawings and hurtful comments? Certainly not me.

Those negative comments can ruin a student’s day, making them overthink the comments and feel bad.

Valentines Day isn’t a day to be bummed out. It’s a day to show your affection towards someone or be with that special someone. It’s a day to be happy.

Now, I’m not saying that ASB should stop doing this because of immature students with nothing else to do but ruin someone’s day, but maybe they could do things differently.

For example, instead of posting the hearts around the school so their friends can go write on them, ASB could deliver the hearts with their friend’s message on them to reduce the negativity. ASB could write something in the announcement saying that if friends would like to send in a little note to their friends they send it in with the name of the student, and their name.

Then, the friend of the student can personally write the message on the heart and deliver it to that student.

It does seem like a little bit of more work but I think it’s worth it, instead of seeing sad kids walking around because there were some negative or inappropriate words about them on their hearts.

Although there is some negative effect to this there is also a positive effect for every student to have a heart.

For example, it helps their self-esteem, even for those that don’t have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Having a heart just gives them this little feeling of happiness that will get them through the day. That’s why I believe that ASB should keep doing this method because even though it lacks in some areas it does have its perks, but it could be modified to reduce the negativity, which will result in happily in love teens.

Give me back my town

by Kayla Layaoen Opinion Editor

A

h, Sunnyvale, Calif. Where the sky is (almost) always blue and the birds are always singing.

I think I speak for most of us when I say that we’re bored of this place.

I’m used to hearing people talk about how much they want to get out of this “little town” and how they want to move somewhere where there is actually something exciting to do on the weekends without living.

I used to think like that, too. I used to sit around and whine about how lame Sunnyvale was.

I would meet people who were from other states and when they talked about their small towns, I would laugh and act like I knew what they were talking about. Oh, your city doesn’t have any car dealerships within a 20-mile-radius?

Haha, get this. Mine only has seven Starbucks locations! I genuinely looked

at this place like it was Nowheresville. After all, you have to drive 15 minutes to get to a mall and if you want to go Go-Kart Racing or see a concert, well, have fun making your way to San Francisco or Redwood City But how bad is that, really? Sure, all the fun stuff isn’t directly in the city. But it’s really close by - How much trouble is it, really, to hop in a car for a couple minutes or buy a train ticket? Maybe Sunnyvale isn’t the most exciting city to live in. But there are more things that make a place worthwhile than whether you can go skydiving there.

For the most part, our city is pretty well off financially. A lot of people like to look down on Fremont especially, because of its

reputation, especially compared to the other schools around here, like Monta Vista and Homestead. But if you compare our school to schools around the nation, instead of just the area, we’re definitely not bad.

Our school is clean. Our teachers are amazing. The opportunities we get just from being in the Bay Area are endless. I feel privileged to live in this “tiny town...” of around 500,000 people.

Sunnyvale is consistently ranked among the top safest cities in the United States (though, of course, we are not crime free). We’re right in the heart of the Silicon Valley, so it’s never hard to find people who want to create new technologies or make a difference in the world. Apple has its headquarters here, and so do countless other tech startups.

Our city is almost always ridiculously clean - it’s even illegal to put up flyers on the street now, in case they fall off and become litter. And we’re incredibly geared toward improving

the environment. It’s been a couple years since plastic bags were legal in this city.

And if you really take the time to look around and get to know Sunnyvale, there’s always stuff to be doing, you just have to find it.

There are a few open mic nights around the city where the artsy people we’re abundant with go to perform. Planet Granite has one of the largest climbing structures in the nation.

Downtown has some of the cutest little shops lining it, and on Saturday mornings, it’s a farmers’ market.

I’m still going to move away from here to go to college. But that’s not because I hate Sunnyvale.

Everyone wants to leave the nest eventually, right? I’ll still come back to visit. This Firebird will always know where her nest is.

So here’s to you, Sunnyvale. Here’s to Chipotle, Kimm’s Flower Basket, all the apartment buildings, all the parks and all the Starbucks. You’re not so bad after all.

6

Special Feature

Mar. 4, 2014

A HANDY Guide to the lingo There are many dialects found in the U.S., but that of the Northern Californian is most def the raddest.

Hella (adj.) 1. Many; An abundance of.

2. Definitely; Used to express certainty.

Ex. “I’m hella gonna hit up In-N-Out on my longboard.”

Cattin’ (v.) 1. Continuously making and then cancelling plans with a person or a group.

RAY BANS - Because California really has summer all year round, he wears these to shield his eyes from the intense rays of the California sun.

NORTH FACE JACKET - This is the most expensive, high quality windbreaker money can buy, which basically means this the hype (and we all know that the typical Californian is all about that).

UKELELE - The Californian carries this around so he can contemplate on life and express himself through his super rad tunes. It is also much more accessible than a full sized guitar.

Ex. “Jose keeps cattin’ on me. I don’t think I wanna kick it with him anymore.”

Swole (adj.) 1. Buff; desirably muscular.

SNAPBACK - The Californian wears this to not only emphasize his swag, but also to tame his long, free flowing locks.

DIAMOND SUPPLY CO. TEE - Because well, swag.

Ex. “Man, look at that kid. He’s dummy swole.”

Cool Minute (n.) 1. A large span of time.

Ex. “Bruh, we haven’t talked in a cool minute!”

Kristina Lechuga | The Phoenix

TIGHT, SAGGED JEANS The Californian doesn’t mind that this virtually impairs his ability to walk, because it makes him look really hardcore and gangster.

Lightweight (n., adj.) 1. A person with a low tolerance for something.

2. A little bit; kind of.

Ex. “I’m lightweight irritated right now.”

Hype beast (n.) 1. Someone who is up to date on the newest trends in the bay.

Ex. “What do you think of my new jacket from Superdry?” “You are such a hype beast.”

Playlist 1. Hellogoodbye - Baby, It’s Fact / 2. Mac Dre - Feelin’ Myself / 3. Train - Save Me, San Franciso / 4. Sage the Gemini - Red Nose / 5. Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up to Dry / 6. M.I.A. - Paper Planes / 7. New Boyz - Backseat / 8. Colbie Caillat - Bubbly/ 9. Grateful Dead - Truckin’ / 10. Night Ranger - Sister Christian / 11. Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life / 12. Metallica - Enter Sandman / 13. Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way

Mar. 4, 2014

Special Feature

7

Northern Californian

HabITat The Northern Californian can oftentimes be found at health food outlets checking labels to ensure their products are GMO free, riding a longboard or browsing the aisles of thrift stores (where they will soon give up their search and instead find the nearest Urban Outfitters). They can also be found in the Silicon Valley creating their own tech startups.

Nutrition The Northern Californian has a very specific diet. You could say that they’re picky - only the most organic and morally unambiguous of foods can be found on their plate.

PIZZA MY HEART-

Provides the Northern Californian with a tasty slice of Santa Cruz.

QUICKLY’S-

Northen Californians’ primary source of liquid

nutrition.

PINKBERRY - Cold weather, hot weather, whatever - North-

ern Californians need their frozen yogurt. Around here, it really can’t be too cold for frozen yogurt.

TACO TRUCKS - While Taco Bell is often good enough for

many, true Northern Californians seek authentic Mexican food.

CHIPOTLE - Farm raised, cruelty-free, vegetarian-friendly.

All photos courtesy of websites and do not belong to The Phoenix unless stated otherwise.

8

Arts & Entertainment

Mar. 4, 2014

¡Ay caramba! ¡Muy bien! ¡Mucho talento!

by Juan Martinez Copy Editor

Fremont definitely has talent.

On Feb. 8 the Latino Student Union held its first annual talent show in the Shannon Theater and it was a show worth seeing. The show was free for all to see and to participate in. The show also included guest performances from Stanford University Ballet Folklorico and Mariachi, but mainly featured many Fremont students. The entire program was about an hour and 30 minutes long with an intermission to let DJ Sanchez spin some tracks.

As far as performances go, many of them stood out throughout the night. The first to standout, literally as she was the first to perform, was Yisset “Gigi” Gonzalez. She sang “Don’t Rain on my Parade” by Barbara Striesand which was excellently sung and brought to life on stage as she had no fear of putting some emotion into that musical number. She also had some good vocal range and strength especially at that the end when she held a high note for at least seven seconds

Photo Courtesy of Paris Trytten

THE Acapella group of August Powell, Joe Kaho, Jeffery Garcia and Ethan Van Steenburgh preforms at the LSU talent show.

which was very impressive.

Another good performance was a piano cover of Imagine Dragons’ song “Radioactive” done by Daisy Manriquez and Christian Barrios. Barrios’ piano playing was not only perfect but it was also mesmerizing. As for the vocals Manriquez did an overall good job. They were in perfect harmony

throughout their performance.

The Martial Arts club made an appearance that night, putting on not just a performance but a show.

They did a comedic, action packed Martial Arts routine with probably the coolest background music heard in a really long time. The best part was definitely

when they began to display their technique by breaking boards during the performance. Overall, it looked not only cool but well-rehearsed. Martin Tavera, Ramon Perez, Sean Rodriquez, Alex Cisneros, Ryan Mill and Allan Rodrigues did an exceptional job.

The most notable performance was the Acapella

group that blew the audience away. They had the right amount of comedy and were amazing. Jeffery Garcia, Ethan van Steenburgh, Joe Kaho and August Powell did a fantastic job. It was a phenomenal performance that had to be seen to be believed.

Extraordinary is exactly the word to describe this

rapper. Esteban Canalez, a.k.a Extraordinary, was a big hit at the show and for a good reason. That boy had talent. His rap was original and had a good flow to it.

Fremont staff judged the performances; they also made encouraging remarks to help them improve their acts for the future. The acts were ranked based on the score. The second runner up, winning 25 dollars, was rapper Extraordinary. The cheer of the crowd, which took almost three tries to gauge, determined first and second place winners. The first runner-ups were the members of the Martial Arts club, winning 50 dollars, as judged by the audience.

And winning 1st place, 100 dollars and bragging rights was the Acapella group.

The show was a success in terms of finding and highlighting talent, and also in terms of putting on a great show. If the show does become annual, many should take sometime next year to either participate or see their fellow Firebirds perform. And hopefully this becomes a valued LSU tradition.

Almost as boring as black and white

by Jasmine Salik Opinion Editor

Students anticipate for Winter Formal to be great no matter their grade, however the dance didn’t exactly meet students’ high expectations this year.

Although many winter formal dances in the past have fallen short according to students’ opinions, people who attended the dance still kept high hopes for how Winter Formal would turn out. Many unfortunately, were slightly discontented.

Despite some students’ disappointment with the quality of this year’s Winter Formal, one can definitely agree it was better than last year’s. Not only was the music slightly more preferable, but the quality of the decorations was as well.

Students were able to tell that more thought and planning was executed in order to arrange the dance than last year. The ASB students put in a lot of time and effort into planning the dance, including junior, Ofek Avidan-Antonir.

It takes a lot of hard work to plan a dance successfully and it certainly requires a lot of experience.

There are many things that can affect the quality of a school dance, however the planning of it for this year’s Winter Formal certainly cannot be blamed.

“We didn’t necessarily compare this year’s dance to last year’s, but we wanted to live up to it and make it even better,” Avidan-Antonir

Kristina Lechuga | The Phoenix

said. “I think we were able to do that since we got a lot more decorations like pillars and I’m really happy with the outcome.”

Part of what decides if you have a good time at Winter Formal is whether you have a date to the dance or not. If you go to Winter Formal either single and with your friends, the dance may seem awkward at times, especially during the slow dance songs.

“I believe you need a date in order to have a fun time at the dance because of the pictures that people

give out to others and if you don’t have a date during the slow dance songs, it’s awkward since all the couples are dancing and you’re just left on the side,” junior Lora Iliev said.

Since Winter Formal is mostly a date dance, there weren’t too many people left for singles to dance with.

This caused many uncomfortable moments for people and numerous students were roaming around the dance floor by themselves or awkwardly talking to their friends.

Some students felt so

uncomfortable that they decided to sit in the decorated tables set up by the ASB students, instead of spending time with the people around them.

Compared to other schools in the Fremont Union High School District, FHS has the least amount of “askings” to Winter Formal.

In other schools including Homestead High School, students had elaborate “askings” including planned dance performances and a flash dance mob. The most elaborate asking at FHS on campus were posters and

there were very few.

Many believe that more people at FHS need to ask each other to Winter Formal or students need to stop restricting themselves based on what others think and try to make the best of what is given to them.

One of the things that was different about this year’s Winter Formal was that the DJ, Isaac Deol is a student attending FHS. Since Deol is surrounded by peers and understands their music interests, many students expected the music to be great at the dance.

“I thought the music that was played was pretty good this year,” junior Parisa Ayoubi said. “I thought that the music ranged more than last year, which was nice and it allowed different kinds of dancing for the people who like all kinds of dancing.”

On the other hand, there weren’t very many slow dance songs even though Winter Formal is widely considered a date dance. However, since so many people attended the dance solo, this could be considered a good thing since this reduced the amount of awkward moments for the majority of the people there.

The food quality wasn’t too high either and mainly consisted of snack foods like chips and crackers. However, there were homemade pumpkin cupcakes that ran out very quickly. There was a low amount of food and most of it ran out towards the middle of the dance.

Although the dance was awkward at the beginning and not many people were dancing, naturally towards the end people started to loosen up and were more comfortable with each other. As a result, the mood started to shift and people were really beginning to enjoy the dance.

Once people broke the various unspoken and uncomfortable barriers with each other, Winter Formal became much more enjoyable, however a little too late.

Mar. 4, 2014

Arts & Entertainment

9

Not nutty for the “The Nut Job”

by Kristina Lechuga Lead Artist

Tatiana Castillo| The Phoenix

Full of Magic

by Tatiana Castillo Staff Writer

Chinese food is great, and Filipino food is good too, but a Chinese-Filipino restaurant is even better.

Magic Wok is a small family-owned restaurant located on South Wolfe Road here in Sunnyvale. When one first walks in, it looks like an old kitchen with tons of posters covering the walls. The countertops are covered with more posters and advertisements, which do in fact distract from the menus hanging on the back walls.

There are only about four tables, which are all placed very close together since the space of the restaurant is very small. All of the furniture looks really old, but is off set by an expensive looking flat screen television hanging in the corner of the room.

Due to the lack of tables, it was necessary to sit right next to the door, which is an awkward place for a table to be placed. The door didn’t close all the way, so it kept opening and closing which continued to cover me with cold wind, making it more difficult to enjoy the meal.

Although the space was very small, the customer service was incredibly welcoming, which was encouraging enough to stay and eat anyways, despite the cold, small poster-cluttered atmosphere. Upon entry, we were greeted with a smile from an elderly woman who worked there. She asked how the day was going and asked if their restaurant had been visited before.

When sharing that it was the first time, she immediately got excited and talked about the kind of foods they make and serve. Not only was she friendly, but she was also very sincere. The woman lead the way to a table and brought a cup of hot tea, which wasn’t even ordered, but she said that since it was so cold next to the door, it was important for guests to be warm and comfortable while eating.

Soon after, another woman came to the table with menus and talked about the most popular dishes they had. She, too, was very genuine in her hopes of customers having a nice experience at their restaurant.

Not being sure what to order resulted in ordering a little bit of everything. Barbeque pork kabobs, shanghai lumpias, turon (banana rolls), sticky rice rolls and barbeque pork fried rice made it onto that list of “everything.” While expecting a 20-minute wait or so, it was surprising to receive the order in about ten minutes. The presentation of the food ordered was very professional.

The plates were squeaky clean, as were the utensils. The food seemed like it was delicately placed because there were no signs of a mess anywhere on the edges of the plates. However, the look wasn’t the only good factor.

The plates were hot, which is to be expected since the food had just come off the stove. The barbeque pork kabobs were mouth watering due to the amazing mixture of smoky barbeque and sweet pork that the kabob contained. The rice was delicious and had the perfect blend of pork and rice. When receiving the sticky rice rolls that were also ordered, which came with a cold peanut sauce, they tasted like soggy rice squished together. The frozen peanut sauce only added to the moisture, making it taste like a wet rice slop. The shanghai lumpias, however, were very good. They were very flaky, but it was great. To top it off, dessert was incredible. Turon was very sweet, but not to sweet because it was only the natural sugars of the banana wrapped in a flaky crust. The entire meal was amazingly enjoyable and finger-licking good.

Overall, the entire meal was extremely cheap considering the portion sizes. The portions were adequate for two people, and the prices were just right. When expecting very a very large tab, it was surprising that the entire order came to only about $23.

A great animated film is one that has appeal to both children and adults alike; a task that well-known animation studios such as Pixar and DreamWorks are recognized for.

Unfortunately, “The Nut Job” failed to capture the timeless humor or emotional moments that one would expect from a family film.

The movie’s 45 million dollar budget comes as a surprise, considering just how low the quality is.

The “Nut Job” wasn’t made by one of these larger studios and was instead created by a smaller studio who may not pay their animators and artists well.

This unoriginal, sloppy and poorly executed film was a disaster right from the start.

The “Nut Job” is a South Korean/Canadian CGI (computer-generated imagery) film directed by Peter Lepeniotis and released by Open Road Films.

The movie revolves around Surly Squirrel, a selfish, independent squirrel who plans a heist to steal nuts from a nut store with the intention of keeping it all for himself.

The film is based off of a 2005 animated short titled “Surly Squirrel,” which surprisingly, was very entertaining. The characters were quirky, not annoying and the jokes/ slapstick humor were almost reminiscent of a Tom and Jerry cartoon. It seemed like it had potential to do well if translated to a feature length film. The movie that ultimately was created, however, was a completely different story.

The quality of the CGI was similar to that of a late 1980s Pixar film—choppy, poorly rendered and overall cheap-looking.

The character designs were just as terrible, and appeared to be almost copied from more successful movies. Surly’s friend, a rat named Buddy, looks like he could be a long-lost cousin of Remy the rat, from the Pixar film “Ratatouille”.

The entire cast of rodents in the movie looked like unsettling, creepy taxidermy animals.

Animation and design aside, the jokes were painfully dull. Although this is a children’s movie, it was surprising to see how unintelligent the jokes were. There must have been at least five nut jokes (e.g. “this is nuts”, “I went a little nuts”), and none of them got even the smallest giggle from the

Photo Courtesy of IMDb.

audience. Do producers and directors realize that children are smarter than this?

The jokes may cause your IQ score to drop 30 points Supposedly, the movie took place in 1959, but there are no hints in the movie whatsoever that make it clear just what decade it was. The constant playing of “Gangnam Style” and other modern music didn’t necessarily help, either. The animals danced to “Gangnam Style”; not once, but

twice.

Overall, the plot of this movie was so scattered and weak that even children in the audience found it difficult to pay attention through most of it.

With one lousy pun after another and the poor overall quality of the film, one could only assume that a sequel would be out of the question. Wrong. The Nut Job 2 comes out in 2016, so if you’re looking to lose a few brain cells, you’re in luck.

YouTube league of his own

by Savanna Kiene

Staff Writer

From singers to vloggers to makeup gurus, YouTube has increasingly become a place for people to not only post videos, but also receive praise and popularity for them. Senior Jeremy Barnard has taken his place in the YouTube community with his gaming videos With close to 75,000 subscribers and a whopping 9.5 million total views, Barnard’s YouTube account is nearing celeb status.

He started his career in February of 2011 in his freshman year, and is still going strong. He was inspired by other YouTubers to start making these videos, and immediately decided to continue this as a full time hobby.

“I saw the potential in the videos and other content creators on YouTube that I watched, and then I decided it’d be fun making videos,” Barnard said.

One of Barnard’s biggest inspirations is YouTuber, Athene. Athene creates gaming videos, and has over 700,000 subscribers.

The biggest thing that stood out about Athene to Barnard was his impressive amount of work towards charities. He raises over $600,000 per month to donate to kids in need in Africa.

The fact that just a

Neha Mannikar| The Phoenix

simple task of making videos could be turned into a charity donation was incredible to Barnard, and he knew it was his aspiration to do the same.

The biggest part about succeeding on Youtube is to have a unique idea, or at least a qunique execution that is really good.

You don’t want to copy other people.

Jeremy Barnard When Barnard first started to create videos, it was just for fun. There was no amount of significance to the videos he was making.

He saved up over $3,000 of equipment to make these videos, simply because he thought it’d be a great way to spend his time.

“I never expected to become a professional YouTuber,” Barnard said.

He loves to play League of Legends, so he decided that he would create videos that would help viewers understand how to beat certain levels in the game, or use different cheats to move forward in the game. Although his account is very specific to League of Legends videos, he still gets hundreds of thousands of views on all of his videos.

Of course, he didn’t start out with this amount of popularity. It took 190 videos to get him to this state, and he hopes it will only grow from there. A few

things along the way helped him become more popular.

“I had a couple videos that got to the front page of Reddit.com, and those videos helped me out quite a bit, as did a shout out from one of my idols on YouTube Athene, but overall it was a long and gradual process, and I loved the way it turned out,” Barnard said.

After signing up with Curse Entertainment, he has not only been able to use YouTube as his hobby, but as a source of income.

Throughout the years, while he has gotten more and more attention, he has also been able to make more money through his videos.

Barnard’s advice for any aspiring YouTubers is to simply be creative, and be different.

“The biggest part about succeeding on YouTube is to have a unique idea, or at least a unique execution that is really good,” Barnard said. “You don’t want to copy other people.”

YouTube is a great place to be able to do something you love and be able to branch out to thousands of people across the world.

Barnard has found his way throughout the YouTube community and he believes his success will only continue forward from here.

10

Arts & Entertainment

Mar. 4, 2014

Crocheting the Wright way

by Chau Nguyen

Sports Editor

Junior Melissa Wright hooked up with crocheting in high school and now they’re a tight-knit pair.

Crocheting is the process of making things, like stuffed animals made from yarn to blankets and tank tops. Unlike knitting, it uses a crochet hook, which is a type of hook where thread can be drawn through the holes. There’s only one “stitch” and most crochets are made by hand, because using machines are not practical.

“I don’t really like buying things as much,” Wright said.

Wright enrolled in a crocheting class in the spring of freshman year and she got weaved into it from the start.

She finds comfort in the endless repetition of stitches, and watching simple strands of yarn grow to form something completely different makes her happy.

“I’ve always loved making things and sometimes, I give them as gifts for other people or as Christmas

Priya Lee | The Phoenix

presents,” Wright said.

Wright sometimes crochets in class, with her teacher’s permission, because it keeps her hands busy and her mind focused.

“I tell my teachers that it’s more productive for me than doodling,” Wright said.

Wright started to sell crochets when classmates saw her making scarves, hats and stuffed animals, but her business fluctuates. It depends on whether people like what

they’re seeing. Since Wright began crocheting just because it was something she liked, she didn’t really think of it as a business at first.

“It definitely started as a hobby first, then people paid me for something I already loved doing, so I figured, sure, I’ll finance it,” Wright said. “But I’m definitely not getting rich off this.”

Her prices depend on the material she’s using and the amount of time it takes to crochet an item, because there are

some materials that are considered semi-luxurious or cheap. She’s completed many projects for friends, including mittens, turtles and a pikachu.

However she gets joy from crocheting because the end project is always worth it. It fills her with joy to see someone buy a finished project.

“All I took was this really long piece of yarn and a little metal tool and my fingers, and that was it,” Wright said. “I made something pretty cool and it wasn’t made by a machine, but by a human and that human is me.”

There was a period where she made six crochet turtles and she was burned out because it was the same thing over and over again. Crocheting something that someone else wants can make you lose the spark, but Wright does her own projects as well.

“Sometimes, if I have to make the same thing over and over again, I want to make my own stuff,” Wright said. “A lot of the stuff I do, I keep because it makes me happy.”

“The Foreigner” delights

by Marinn Cedillo Staff Writer

The Fremont High School Theatre Department had everybody laughing in a rendition of “The Foreigner”, a play full of twists and turns.

The play ran for a course of three days from Jan. 30th to Feb. 1st. Larry Shue wrote the original production in the 80s and current student Cassidy Shapiro directed Fremont’s production.

The play begins with the main character of the play, Charlie Baker, arriving at the Fishing Lodge Resort with his friend Froggy Le Sueur. Charlie ends up pretending to be a foreigner to get out of talking to anyone at the lodge.

The owner of the place, Betty Meeks takes an instant liking to Charlie, and so do the other tenants of the lodge. The lodge is at risk of being bought by Reverend David Lee and Betty has no way to save it. The arrival of Charlie marks a significant change in all of their lives. The play culminates when the two antagonists of the play, David Lee and Owen Musser become fed up with Charlie and call the KKK to get him.

The plot of the play went by fast and seemed short, although the length of the play was actually around 2 hours. There were some parts of the play that were weird and were simply forgotten afterwards. For example a scene at the be-

Jessica Lum, Freshman

The Life of the Thing All was well at the residence Home to precisely three residents Renowned around for their excellence And astounding artistic prevalence Then the Thing came And without shame Everything changed The Thing is deranged!

It could not be returned, burned, Or exchanged It howled It scowled It fouled and growled There’s nothing worse yet Than this Thing, I bet I swear, the Thing was Tartarus It swallowed as much as an oceanic abyss Still it howled and scowled And fouled and growled And went on without cease So I prayed and begged for peace Please excuse me while I reminisce About the days of ignorant bliss Before the Thing came Back when this was all a game When strife we’d ignore Through life we’d soar Those days are painted acrylic Those days idyllic.

The vision becomes whorled, Back to the real world: There’s something about children And sticking them in a cauldron You’re no villain It’s so tempting, in attempting Over your eyes I pull no wool It’s understandable Expandable E-X-P-A-N-D-A-B-L-E I mean, the Thing It’s obscene The Thing caused the weeping of willows The sleeping on pillows And the leaping of armadillos

Photo Courtesy of FHS Drama Department

ginning of the play in which Catherine Simms, a character staying at the lodge is upset with her fiance David Lee because she is pregnant.

She was under the impression that David was infertile and felt betrayed. Although she is pregnant for the rest of the play, this conversation or the baby is never mentioned again.

The stage background was beautifully crafted and definitely had a homey ambiance. What made it feel real were the little details that the crew incorporated, from the way the bar was set up with all types of drinks to the lounge area with the leafy plants and a colorful sofa. The color combinations of yellows, browns and greens resulted in an alluring color scheme. The trap door was ingeniously

used for the action scene of the play and although it wasn’t visible, you could feel that theatre magic in action.

The sound and lighting effects were instrumental in bringing the play to life. As the play continued, the light effects felt so natural they weren’t even noticeable. The sound effects were amusing as well, specifically when used to accent the props of the play. For example, in an act of justice, Froggy set a bomb on David’s car to explode, which looked very realistic.

The actors were lighthearted and put a lot of effort into their scenes. The scene in which Charlie and Ellard have a mimicking scene proved that talent.

Although the accents of the actors seemed very well mastered, it became dif-

ficult to understand them at times. When listening to the play, the audience had to make sure to pay close attention to the dialogue.

The real show stealer however was Ellard Simms. The whole audience was in fits when Ellard cracked some jokes. The character was introduced as the victim of David’s quest to riches and the audience watched him develop into a kid who was surer of him self. In the end almost everyone felt that the endearing Ellard was a riot.

Overall the play was a charming and engaging story that ended with a hilarious twist. The relatable characters, intriguing plot, great set and the professional effects proved that this play deserves a strong five out of five stars.

But this is the paradigm of terrible times On the flip side of these dimes, You find that the rejoicing the Thing can bring Makes it feel like spring, no matter the sting So our fall from gory Was anything but glory Because as much as the Thing Howled or scowled Fouled or growled It didn’t mean a thing, If you see what I mean Now that quaint residence Is home to four residents Yes, despite all the above The air in spring And how it arrives And we can’t help but love The one, the only Thing That changed our lives

Sports

Mar. 4, 2014

11

New swimming coach ready to dive in

by Briana Castillo Staff Writer

Julie Williams loves swimming and swimming loves Williams. The two are practically inseparable.

Williams is a welcomed newcomer for coaching Fremont High School’s girls swimming team this season.

Williams has been in the water ever since she was toddler. What made her become a swim coach was the convenience of growing up with numerous swimming routines and lessons that her parents made her do.

Her routines developed into a newfound passion for swimming, and she even applied her swim skills when she was part of the swimming team and diving team throughout middle school and high school.

As an adult, her prior work was being a teacher at Lynbrook High School,

where she taught for 5 years.

Now as a firebird, she’s teaching her first year of P.E. for the sophomores and freshmen.

“Being a P.E. teacher and a coach, athletics has always been a really big part of my life,” Williams said.

“After all, I’ve played a lot of sports growing up.”

After graduating, she decided to pursue a job in teaching, preferably in the field of athletics.

Her work experiences involved teaching swimming lessons at different levels, lifeguarding at local pools around the area and now, coaching for the swim team here at Fremont.

According to Williams, the best thing about swimming is that there are many variations for working out.

With swimming, you can branch off with sports such as water aerobics, water

polo, or relay racing. Using the fundamentals of swimming such as the freestyle stroke, to the more difficult techniques like the butterfly stroke, is the core that makes swimming beneficial for herself and an enjoyable experience.

“It doesn’t get boring, there’s always stuff you can work on and improve on,” Williams said.

The swim team is well aware of what to expect from her coaching. According to Williams, when she’s in coach mode, she knows what to do during practice and makes sure everything is strictly serious.

However, after practice, one would expect her to be carefree and pleasant, as her more leisure persona emerges.

“The kids know that I’ll definitely push them hard,” Williams said.

Unity and teamwork are heavily emphasized under the coaching of Williams. Based from her expectations, she believes that with the team bonding will further achieve her goals for the season.

Being a P.E teacher and a coach, athletics has always been a really part of my life. After all, I’ve played a lot of sports growing up.

Julie Wiliams “Being 100% part of the team, showing up to practice everyday, giving your best effort with workouts

helps us bond as a team,” Williams said.

In contrast, the hardest part is getting ready to swim during a cold day. The cold temperature is a huge disadvantage for Williams, especially for her athletes.

The possibility that the pool isn’t heated enough to accommodate outside the temperature can also be discouraging for swimming.

However, the way she overcomes this disadvantage, is with the mindset that swimming is just like any workout.

According to Williams, the best way to overcome the cold weather is to just get into the pool headstrong, that once you start, you get over the cold.

When they’re not training, Williams and her athletes spend time doing events. They do fundraising and sometimes host pasta

parties.

Since it’s her first year coaching swimming at Fremont, Williams wants to prioritize setting for herself and her team. She wants each and every individual members of the team to create goals for themselves to work on throughout the entire swim season.

Her own personal goals as a coach are helping the swimmers achieve their goals for improvement, that is what she strives for.

“Setting individual goals for specific strokes that you’re doing, setting team goals, all that stuff will really help the entire team,” Williams said.

Like most coaches, Williams will do her best as the new swimming coach. Her passions for swimming, as well as her personal history with it will surely be a powerful asset for Fremont.

Spring preview

by Mike Capovilla

Staff Wrter

Priya Lee | The Phoenix

Girl wrestlers off the mat

by Priya Lee

Lead Photographer

While most sports usually have at least ten players on the team, only two sole talented female wrestlers represent Fremont.

Senior Evonne Evien and sophomore Yuri Takaku are the only two girl members of the wrestling team.

However, even though they have a small team, they are both destined for great things in the future.

Evien competed in the Central Coast Section Girl’s Wrestling Tournament at Oak Grove High School.

This tournament had over 150 participants and nine girls in Evien’s weight class.

She placed third in her weight class at CCS. Even though before CCS she was seated first in the state.

Last year was a phenomenal season for

Evien also with her placing second in CCS and fifth in the whole state. Evien only been wrestling for two and a half years, but has she shown tremendous talent in her sport.

“Evonne’s always been tough,” Coach Erik Duus said. “She’s a phenomenal athlete, she just kind of gets by with her natural ability, but I always give her a hard time because she can do so much better if she put in more work. She doesn’t work as much, but she doesn’t need to.”

Takaku was injured with a dislocated elbow right before CCS, but she shows a lot of promise in future years. She is only a sophomore and at the rate she’s going, she can expect placing high in the future.

“Yuri is a lot newer to the sport and she had no prior experience, so she’s been working real hard,” Duus said. “She’s improved the most out of any of our wrestlers. She’s so dedicated; she might be the most

dedicated wrestler on the team really. She’s on track to place at CCS, however last night she dislocated her elbow.”

Takaku has done a complete 180 from last year, going from not winning any matches last season, to winning more matches.

“A good memory I have was one of the matches this year,” Takaku said. “When I shook one of the coach’s hand after I won against one of his wrestlers he said, ‘you got better compared to the last year,’ and that made me feel really great.”

The girls have also gained the support of the rest of the wrestling team with gender not being an issue.

“We all support each other,” Takaku said. “When we go to tournaments, we watch each other’s matches and give advice. During practice, we push each other and we wrestle against bigger guys to get stronger. We just have fun with

each other too. The gender doesn’t really count, we just have fun with each other wrestling.”

Even though Takaku and Evien are polar opposites in completely different weight classes with different wrestling styles, they still help each other out during practice, and support each other during matches and tournaments.

“She’s like my number one fan,” Evien said. “It’s cute because I have the strength and she then has the technique. We help out each other a lot. I taught her how to be more aggressive and she has the best technique that I’ve ever seen, better than some of the guys on our team. I would teach her how to be more aggressive and she would teach me how to do things right. She’s like my little wrestling sister. I always have to watch her matches and cheer her on.

She’s the best. I love her.”

One of the most eclectic athletic seasons is spring. With the weather starting to warm up again, it’s the perfect time to go outside and play with your fellow classmates in one of the eight sports that begins this spring. The sports starting are baseball, softball, boys volleyball, track, tennis, swimming, diving, golf and badminton.

“I’m pretty excited for this upcoming season,” junior baseball player Levi Torrio said. “I think we’re pretty ready for it and hopefully well do well. Our practices and tryouts seem fairly promising.”

Baseball and springtime weather are synonymous with each other. The warm weather with a cool breeze brings thoughts of mits and stadium nachos to everybody’s mind. Each team, JV and varsity, is headed up by two coaches. All of the coaches have high hopes for this season and are anticipating a good season due to how well they did last year.

“The beginning of this season will probably be fun but tough because we start off with a tournament and we might be ill prepared,” anonymous volleyball player said.

“Me and a couple friends ran pretty frequently over the summer just for fun but also to sort of prepare for this upcoming season,” junior Sean Keegan said. “A lot of the runners are really excited to finally get back into a regular practice schedule.”

Track and field has practice everyday and all of its players are very dedicated. All of the players love the sport and love to run. One of them even made a poem about it.

“She showed me her beauty, beckoning to become close,” junior Austin King said. “She wanted to show me so much, but I was overwhelmed and I rejected the knowledge.”

King said this about his relationship to the sport and how it felt returning after not participating in the sport last year.

“We’re very prepared for the upcoming season,” junior Ronen Burd said. “All of the seasoned players are very good and the talent of the incoming freshman players is very promising. The skill level ranges of course from upper to lower classmen, but players say that the team is ready and waiting for their next match Many badminton players are ready and incredibly excited for the upcoming season. Many people write off badminton as a cheap knock off of tennis, but practice is grueling and exhausting and matches are long.

Swimming is one of the most exhausting sports there is, but despite all of that, the players are very dedicated and swim daily. The team has grown and they are all very ready for the upcoming meet.

From baseball to track, Fremont athletes share a consensus: They’re ready for spring.

Sports Dancing and floating like a feather Mar. 4, 2014

12

by Alex Bernaur Managing Editor

The Fremont High School Featherettes have a new youthful look this competition season. With the addition of seven new freshmen to the team, they are ready for the USA Dance Drill Nationals on March 28-29th in Anaheim.

The Featherettes have had lots of success this competition season. They have placed first for their pom dance routine in three different competions. They have also placed in the top 5 for small hip hop, small lyrical, x-small dance and medium dance.

To qualify for the USA Dance Drill Nationals, the featherettes had to compete in the Bella Vista High School USA Regional competition on Feb. 1 and Monta Vista High School USA NorCal Dance Drill Championships on Feb. 8.

After their performances at those competitions, the Featherettes will dance all their routines in the open division at Nationals.

Even though none of their routines qualified for championship division, the

open division is still a proud accomplishment, considering the large number of freshman added to the team. The team is diverse and has an optimistic look towards the season, “It’s definitely been different, I was so used to having an even number of girls per class. Only one freshman last year then suddenly seven this year, has been really different,” junior co-captain Suzie Goodrich said. “However, it’s also been nice to have so many new faces and they’re all really great girls and hard workers.”

In his second competition season as coach, Miguel Mendoza is more experienced and knows what he is doing. He receives assistance from junior captain Kinoka Masumoto and Suzie Goodrich.

“This is the second competition season with the same coach and it’s definitely a lot nicer and easier,” Masumoto said.

“It’s more organized and our coach knows what he’s doing.”

Along with being the head coach of the featherettes, Mendoza is a fitness instructor, teaching Zumba

Fitness class, dance classes and is also attending school for his Pyhsical Education Dance Teaching Credentials.

In the last few years, the featherettes have experienced lots of coaching instability. In his first two years Mendoza has brought stability and comfort back to the team.

“Having the same coach has been a relief this year. Over four years on the team there h ave been three head coaches,” senior dancer Natalie Paul said. “Now, sticking with the same coach for two competition seasons really helps because we’re not trying to get used to new things. Our coach knows our styles and knows how to help us be the best as possible.”

To prepare for the competition season, the featherettes practice five to six days a week and they usually practice for two hours.

However, their practices vary when they have competitions. Sometimes, they dedicate themselves to train for more than their usual routine, which is comparable to the other team sports at Fremont.

Along with team

Photo Courtesy of Gwen Cossoul

FEATHERETTES compete at Bella Vista High School at USA Regionals to qualify for Nationals.

routines there are solos and individual dance routines. at every competition. At the upcoming nationals competition, Masumoto will be the only dancer to perform a solo. She received third place for her solo performance at the latest competition at Lincoln High School on Feb.15.

“It’s definitely scary and sometimes a lot of pressure, but I like it because I get

to do what I’m better at.”

Masumoto said.

While the scoring system for dance is very subjective, Paul compared the system to a test.

“The way dance is scored, is there are points out of 100, and as you’re being judged, points are taken off for any mistakes,” Paul said.

Mendoza and the featherettes are hoping for a

strong showing at Nationals and if anything, gain valuable experience for the future.

“My goal for the team is to improve on becoming better every year, getting my team to a championship division at USA Nationals,” Mendoza said.

With this goal intact the future is looking bright for the Featherettes.