April 30, 2010

Page 6: Foreign languages connect students to their native culture.

High Tide Redondo Union High School

XC Number 11

Friday focus Today, the boys’ baseball team will play West High School at home at 3:15. Go out and support your fellow Seahawks as they take on the Warriors.

general

Information The ASB Finance Office is open for student business at the following times only: before school, after school, snack, and lunch.

The College and Career Center student visit times are before and after school, at snack and at lunch. The center is closed during class hours except by appointment.

Club

Information Auto Club-10 California Scholarship Federation- 301 Chess Club- 64 fellowship of Christian Athletes- 823 French Club- 808

info for

Students Sign-up for Grad Night 2010! Forms are in Administration or at redondounion.org under LINKS. The cost $80 until April 30th, $100 after.

Stop by and check out the new daily lunch menu in the café. You can also see the menu on redondounion.org under Students, Food & Lunch Menus.

Be organized and successful! Get a planner/agenda to keep track of all your 4th quarter and year-end assignments and exams. A limited number of agendas are available in the ASB Finance Office, room 202 -- free of charge.

South Bay Adult School is offering a floral design class, which can save students a lot of money when it comes to prom.

Check it out at southbayadult.org or call 310 318-5152.

Sharefest is May 1. We have a lot of work to do on the RUHS campus and we need volunteers.

We are looking for 150 people to do some light gardening and landscaping all over the campus.

Please join us as we beautify RUHS! Yearbooks are still available for sale in room 202.

Cost is $85.00 without ASB card; $75.00 with ASB card.

The High Tide is now available online. See: www.hightideonline.org

weekend

weather

Saturday: Sunny 67˚/56˚ Sunday: Sunny 67˚/58˚ Source: www.weather.com What’s Inside...

Pages 2......................News Page 3...................Opinion Page 4,5,6..............Features Pages 7,8..................Sports

B4- B5: Music allows students to express themselves.

631 Vincent Park, Redondo Beach, CA 90277

April 30, 2010

Robotics team wins international competition Changing

by Josh Hillsburg

Redondo students build a winning robot The Beach Cities Robotics team, comprised of students from Redondo Union and Mira Costa High School, placed first in the 2010 International Robotics Competition on April 17. “ I am proud of myself and my team,” junior Sebastian Miller-Hack said. “Champion is an immense title to have.”

The team competed against other robotics teams from around the world, including teams from Germany and Japan. The object of the competition was to design a robot capable of kicking a soccer ball into a goal from long distances.

The teams designed a variety of elaborate mechanisms, such as camera-tracking devices, to ensure their robots would be able to make

Art to

Art

the shot.

According to Miller-Hack, it was the team’s experience and superior organization that earned them the championship.

“We owe our success to organization and being able to meet our own deadlines,” MillerHack said.

“It’s incredible. I don’t think any of us have fully grasped it yet.”

–– Andrea Wagner The team is made up of 18 students and 16 mentors —volunteers from engineering firms such as Northrop Grumman.

“Our team has a good student to mentor ratio,” Miller-Hack said. “We’re a very experienced team.”

The team’s champion robot was constructed on Redondo Union High School’s campus by both Redondo and Mira Costa students. Both schools are very proud of the team, according to team coordinator Andrea Wagner.

“It’s incredible. I don’t think any of us have fully grasped it yet,” Wagner said. “There’s major celebration from all sides.”

Miller-Hack plans on pursuing robotics in college and eventually, a career.

“This is gonna look really good for colleges,” he said. “I plan to go to college for mechanical engineering. While I’m working at an aerospace or engineering corporation, I’ll work on my master’s degree.”

Wagner predicts that the team’s success will make joining robotics more appealing.

“We’re hoping to have more students join the team,” Wagner said.

Cannery Row Studios hosted student art show, “Emotions: Where am I?” The exhibit showcased art from all classes and grade levels.

school schedule for it UpThe the next four weeks will be

switched around because of testing. Here’s what you need to know:

May 3- May 14 Monday: periods 1,3,5 Tuesday: 2,4,6 Wednesday: 1– 6 Thursday: 2,4,6 Friday: 1,3,5

May 17- May 28 Monday: 1,3,5 Tuesday: 2,4,6 Wednesday: 1,3,5 Thursday: 2,4,6 Friday: 1– 6

Ms. Seahawk competition introduced by Semper

by Alyssa Sanchez

by Elisa Martinez

Students had a chance to experience what it is like to be a working artist at Cannery Row Studios this past weekend as curators Richard Stephens and Stefani Conniff hosted an all student art show.

The show featured the works of 30 students from each participating art teacher, and each was chosen because it best represented the given themes of “Emotions” and “Where am I?”.

The show spanned over three days and included a reception with food donated from El Pollo Inka and music played by the jazz band, Around.

200 people attended the reception, and more came in over the rest of the show’s run.

According to Conniff, the show was a success.

“Visitors were very impressed with the quality and versatility of the work, and left the show with a positive feeling that art is still alive in the schools,” Conniff said.

The pieces included mixed media, photography, sculptures, collage, acrylic painting, pencil sketches, perspectives, prisma colors, airbrush, gouache paintings, ceramics and model masks.

In total there were about 26 ceramic and 60 flat art pieces and six masks included in the show. Of those works 47 received personal awards and donations from businesses and people in the community who enjoyed the pieces.

Artists received anywhere from $5 personal donations to $25 for the main awards and $50 for best in show. Two pieces were also offered to be bought, one for $75.

According to Conniff, the large number of personal donations is a sign that the show was well received by the public. She is glad that they had the opportunity to show the student art

Drama hosts first annual talent show Drama club held a successful talent show last Thursday, April 22, and raised over $2 thousand. Drama plans to put together another talent show next year because this year’s success.

Drama Club is now planning two performances of Antigone, which will be held in Nobel Plaza May 26-27.

In the spring talent show, twenty three students auditioned to perform their acts in the show, but sixteen made it in.

Most performances were musical numbers, with some dance intermixed among them.

Kelsey Szerlip, junior, sang “What is this Feeling” from Wicked , accompanied by junior Jennifer Gagliano. According to Szerlip, the show was not a serious performance.

“Jen and I auditioned for the talent show because we thought it was going to be really fun and we already had planned what we were going to perform,” she said.

Drama teacher Justin Baldridge has made

within a gallery setting.

“We put on the show because it is important that we show that art is still alive in schools and that we have great talent that should be acknowledged. Art has been taken out of all elementary schools and the middle schools, so the high school teachers really work with a lot of raw talent and the result was fabulous,” Conniff said.

Art teacher and department chair Toni Artiga also believes the show was a success.

“To put on a show like this takes a lot of work and a lot of devotion from the other art teachers,” Artiga said.

According to Artiga, this show was different than the annual art shows held by the school. It was held in a warehouse studio turned gallery and the venue also allowed students to experience what it was like to be a working artist and show in a gallery.

It also allowed a new audience for the students’ works.

According to Artiga, businesses and local art organizations who wouldn’t normally come to the annual art show were able to attend because this show was more community based.

The experience is one she hopes to repeat.

“I hope to continue to collaborate with the Redondo Beach art community to celebrate the talent of the students,” Artiga said. “One of our goals this year is to reach out to the community and display our art so people can see even with the budget cuts we’re still developing and creating. We’re still here.”

an effort to reinvigorate the program by putting on small performances, such as Dessert Theatre, Love: A Cabaret, and now the talent show.

“I’m really happy to have helped them get back on their feet to make the program really great,” Szerlip said.

Hannah Mandelbaum, senior and drama club member, went to watch the talent show and support the performers.

“I really enjoyed it, everyone did an amazing job. I hope to see another one next year,” she said. – Emily Vavrek

The Pilot: Anatomy wins Pacemaker award Anatomy, last year’s yearbook, won the Pacemaker award, a prestigious honor in the high school publications world.

Yearbook advisor Mitch Ziegler is proud of the accomplishment.

“It’s always fun winning cause I never think we’re going to, but [Anatomy] really deserved,”

Ziegler said.

The 2009 NSPA Yearbook Pacemaker recieved 425 entries.

The publications department has been successful in recent years, and both the yearbook and the High Tide have been nominated for Pacemakers. This was the third Pacemaker the yearbook has won. They have been finalists in two other years.

Kevin Maniar, senior and editor-in-chief, feels motivated by the yearbook’s success.

“In the midst of finishing the book for this year, it is great to be able to look back last year and enjoy it,” Maniar said.

Maniar thought Anatomy was great, and hopes that this year will be even better.

“I guess we set the pace for the rest of the country last year,” Maniar said.

According to Ziegler, this year’s yearbook has high hopes for winning another Pacemaker.

“I think this year’s book will be much better than last year’s. The kids have done an amazing job,” Ziegler said. – Michael Cross

Girls now have the opportunity to be elected “Ms. Seahawk” in the tradition of the “Mr. Seahawk”award. The title is given to students who are who are voted to be overall outstanding seniors.

Senior Sara Maltinsky, ASB President and Semper Vice President, thought of the idea.

“I thought why isn’t there a Miss Seahawk too?” Maltinsky said. “I know that we have plenty of girls that are more than qualified, so I brought the idea to Semper and they loved it.”

Semper created additional qualifications for seniors wishing to be Mr. or Ms. Seahawk. Besides being nominated by a senior, nominees must have a 3.0 GPA or higher throughout their entire senior year and must not be on the no-go list, so no truencies or detentions. The students must also be involved is a sport or club on campus, organization outside of school, or have done something noteworthy on campus.

These measures were instated to set the excellent apart from the average.

“This criteria may narrow it down quite a bit,

“It’s not just a silly game where the person who can do the most jumping jacks wins. It is a competition for the cream of the crop,” –– Sara Maltinsky but I really wanted to bring out the true meaning behind winning Mister and Miss Seahawk title. We want the best of the best to be reocognized,” she said.

Originally the competition for Mr. Seahawk took place during the senior rally and the contestants would go through some sort of obstacle or maze. That is why some of the new criteria was added.

“It’s not just a silly game where the person who can do the most jumping jacks wins. It is a competition for the cream of the crop,” said Maltinsky.

Semper created the new guidlines after hearing the idea from ASB. The club wants to continue to plan the event and keep the Ms. Seahawk award for years to come.

Maltinsky is optimistic about the reception of the new competition.

“For years, this competition hasn’t really collected much excitement or momentum. I hope by adding Ms. Seahawk, more students will be encouraged to run for [it] and be excited to see it,” Maltinsky said.

Page

Opinion

2

April 30, 2010

Letters to the Editor

sonya speaks

by Sonya Egan

My bucket list

If you have an opinion about one of the articles published in the High Tide, we welcome letters to the editor.

We reserve the right to edit them for content, grammar and space constraints. Letters must be signed, and are not guaranteed to be printed.

Please bring signed letters to room 209.

High Tide Editor-in-Chief: Sonya Egan Managing Editors: Danielle Lew; Austin Pritzkat News Editor: Molly Simon; Claire Simon Opinion Editor: Jackson Greer Features Editors: Ashley Pournamdari; Julia Uriarte; Sophia Lykke; Dylan Futrell; Jonathan Martin; Jake Collins Sports Editor: Jessica Cascio Photo Editors: Daniel Fallon; Erika Gavitt Copy Editors: Cody Anderson; Adam Ammentorp; Josh Hillsburg; Joey Hoy; Brittney Madera; Christina Mehranbod; Alix Politanoff; Mark Rieth Cartoonists: Josh Hillsburg; Asad Nazif Staff Writers: Vanessa Alarcon; Victoria Balding; Ramya Bhaskar; Shannon Bowman; Claire Chiara; Kelsey Chung; Alexis Curtis-Olson; Michael Cross; Julia Denney; Brianna Egan; Kaelee Epstein; Josh Fogelson; Daniel Garzon; Allie Goldberg; Ulises Gonzalez; Garrett Gutierrez; Meglyn Huber; Bethany Kawa; David Kawa; Steven King; Anthony Leong; Elisa Martinez; Cammille Mitchell; Asad Nazif; Alexandra O’Hagan; Joy Ohiomoba; Alison Peet-Lukes; Madeline Perrault; Melissa Rosero; Allison Salazar; Alyssa Sanchez; Derek Sarno; Katie Scheyer; Laura Shodall; Casey Smith; Shelby Stitch; Shayna Stuart; Emily Sutton; Emily Vavrek; Anneliese Wilson; Alyssa Wolf Adviser: Mitch Ziegler The High Tide dedicates itself to producing a high-quality publication that both informs and entertains the entire student body.

This newspaper is a wholly student managed, designed and written newspaper that focuses on school and community events.

The High Tide is published by the journalism class at Redondo Union High School, 631 Vincent Park, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.

Advertising is $7.50 per column inch, $6.00 if paid in advance. For information call (310)798-8665 ext. 2210.

Signed commentaries and editorial cartoons represent the opinions of the writer or cartoonist and in no way reflect the opinions of the High Tide staff.

Ms. Seahawk adds ‘culture’ to school Semper is waging a war against the male gender, and a female mascot is only the first battle.

It is the women’s moment to fight. Or not. In fact, to dispel any possible rumors that Semper is symbolically fighting gender discrimination, their main motivation behind Ms. Seahawk was to add more traditions to the school’s culture.

Ms. Seahawk had originally been brought up in order to keep the club more active after homecoming. And now it is the beginning of a rich process to add more activities to Redondo’s traditions.

Perhaps what makes this addition even more noble was the fact that there was no radical feminist sentiment that motivated Ms. Sea-

Editorial

hawk’s creation. For it to be borne solely for the enrichment of school spirit and atmosphere, and not on account of any ill feeling due to the absence of one proves how far students’ attitudes toward gender has come. Once gender is not a factor anymore, decisions like these can receive honest praise. It is important to establish this, lest we forget how easy it is to misinterpret simple actions.

Moreover, the purity of intent must be recognized as well. It is rare that a club may seek to actively add to the school’s culture by creating a new tradition, especially one that can be so tangible and, admittedly, historically cliché. Yet the addition of Ms. Seahawk is a twist on a normally formulaic equation. Now more students have the opportunity to participate in school

activities, make memories and, overall, enjoy their high school career.

Contrary to most sentiments—that the contest will inevitably be a popularity contest—it will still contain the same requirements as Mr. Seahawk: 3.0 grade point average and involvement in club or school organizations. With plenty of qualified senior girls, it would be odd not to have a Ms. Seahawk. Through a well rounded process nominations, interviews and voting, the integrity behind the selections should be secure as well.

Finally, it is 2010, and unless someone has been living under a rock, this new development should not cause too much stir. May the best man or woMAN win. Or seahawk. Depending on how spirited you are feeling at the moment.

I have a bucket list. It’s not neatly typed out and pinned to my bulletin board, nor written in gel pens in my agenda. Mine is mental.

The funny thing about it, though, is that I don’t go out in search for items to cross off, or things to do. The items on my list always seem to find me.

Take hitch-hiking, for instance. I don’t consider myself to be a very adventurous person, but I’ve always wondered what it would be like to hitch-hike. It’s one of those romanticized fantasies that you read about in books or see in movies with old diners, interstate highways, and biker chicks.

Funny then, how I managed to hitchhike over spring break on my way to the Sacramento airport. We were driving down the highway, approaching the exit, when I heard a pop. We were able to barely pull over before our tire was completely demolished, a melted mass of rubber hugging the hubcap.

The mixture of cow manure, mud soaked with last night’s rain, and burning rubber on wet pavement greeted me as I stepped out of the passengers side to inspect the damage.

Needless to say, I still needed a ride to the airport. Enter the fates of the bucket list.

As soon as I saw a taxi I started waving my arms frantically, trying to get its attention. The taxi ignored me, but a silver Toyota Highlander approached me instead.

Life’s adventures are random but full of unexpected turns and twists—and flat tires.

I honestly didn’t think I would ever hitchhike—I’m too scared. But such is life’s ironies.

The rest of the story isn’t important: I made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. And I hitch-hiked there.

Arizona immigration law is racist and unconstitutional Arizona’s new immigration law is being challenged. And for good reason: It’s unconstitutional. A few brave Arizona citizens are stepping up to the plate to challenge the new law, Garrett Gutierrez and are fervently trying to repeal the law.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the law, it was recently passed by the Arizona State Legislature and declares being in the state of Arizona illegally as a state crime, and requires that local and state police officials check suspected illegal immigrants for paperwork that proves they’re in the state legally.

Beside the fact that the law is borderline racist and would essentially force police to engage in racial profiling, the law takes a federal issue into the hands of local government.

Illegal immigration is a federal issue, not a state issue. Period. States are subordinate to the federal government, and as such shouldn’t engage their local police officials in detaining suspected illegal immigrants. Not to mention that detaining suspected illegal immigrants before convicting them could be considered a violation of the fifth amendment.

So how exactly is the law racist? Well, consider this hypothetical scenario: A cop overhears a few people speaking Spanish to each other on the street. None of the individuals speak English, and when the officer requests

to see identification, none of them have any I.D. on them. The law poses a serious threat of turning our country into a police state. And what happens if the officer detains them as suspected illegal immigrants, without a fair trial?

Shouldn’t we be afforded the rights guaranteed to us in the constitution?

The bottom line is that we cannot afford for states to pass laws that preempt federal laws. When states disobey the federal government, nothing good ever results. Think South Carolina, circa 1860. Civil War ring any bells?

Yeah, that was all a result of states not wanting to be subordinate to the federal government.

Now I’m not arguing that illegal immigration will cause a second civil war. But many people see this bill for what it is: a piece of leg-

islation that tries to preempt federal law and encourages racial profiling. In that regard, the law is unconstitutional, and numerous individuals and civil rights groups are assembling to speak out against the law. President Obama, the ACLU, even Shakira have all given their two-cents demeaning the law and declaring it as unfair and misguided, if not unconstitutional.

So why should all Americans be concerned with a law that only affects Arizonians? Other states are thinking about passing similar immigration laws, so if we don’t hit this law hard right now, it’ll come back to bite us in the face.

Any law that threatens individual rights is a threat to us all, and we have to deal with it as an assault on our freedom.

‘Tea Party’ contradicts itself on ‘big government’ and spending We see their white, irate, shouting faces on the front covers of newspapers. We see their homemade signs, their longrange rifles, and their flag-waving, but what does the Tea Party actually stand for? And why are they so angry?

Austin Pritzkat To begin to understand the Tea Party, one must first understand the organizations behind the movement and the two-faced messages they support.

Although smaller, citizen-led sects do exist, the main weight of the Tea Party movement is broken primarily into two moneyed, lobbyist-led groups: the Tea Party Patriots and the Tea Party Express.

The Tea Party Patriots believe in three core values: fiscal responsibility, a constitutionally limited government, and free market enterprise (www.teapartypatriots.org).

The Tea Party Express, which is funded by the right-wing political action group Our Country PAC, is technically different from the Tea Party Patriots; however these factions together form the general Tea Party movement. It is the link between these groups where the confusion and hypocrisy begins.

On Our Country PAC’s website, they say they are “leading the fight to champion the Reaganesque conservatism of lower taxes, smaller government, strong national defense, and respect for the strength of the family as the core of a strong America” (Our Country Deserves Better PAC).

A return to the “Reaganesque conservatism” advocated by Our Country PAC conflicts with the Tea Party Patriots’ core value of “fiscal responsibility.”

Ronald Reagan almost tripled the national debt, in-

creasing the debt from just over one trillion dollars at the start of his presidency to $2.6 trillion by the time he left the White House (www.encyclopedia.com).

Tripling the national debt doesn’t seem too “fiscally responsible” to me; in fact, it’s quite irresponsible.

Maybe the two groups never collaborated on their message or maybe they never learned U.S history, but most likely they’re just stupid.

The Tea Party attacks President Obama for his handling of the economy, for the unemployment rate, and for his large deficits, but they forget (or don’t know) that Reagan also had high unemployment and in fact, he never submitted a balanced budget to Congress, (New York Times).

There is a double-standard in the world of the Tea Party. Reagan and Bush can run deficits but when Obama has deficit spending, it all-of-a-sudden becomes a crime.

Both Reagan and Obama inherited recessions with high unemployment rates upon inauguration, 7.5% and 7.2% respectively, and both presidents saw unemployment rise after becoming president. (U.S. Dept. of Labor).

Unemployment peaked at 10.8% under Reagan and 10.1% under Obama, assuming unemployment continues on its downward trend (U.S. Dept. of Labor).

Regardless of how you feel about either president, you have to acknowledge the central flaw in the logic of the Tea Party. They can’t support “Reaganesque conservatism” and fiscal responsibility without acknowledging that Reagan was fiscally irresponsible, thus destroying one of their central arguments.

The gaping hole in their logic shows more than just poor history knowledge and a forgetful memory; it shows a lack of thought and integrity. The websites’ literature aside, the Tea Party movement’s ideology

and actions are plagued by hypocrisy.

Tea Partiers want to “End the Fed,” and have “small government,” but still over 48% of Tea Partiers rely on Social Security either for themselves, a family member, or themselves and a family member.

(New York Times). Over 62% of Tea Partiers think that Social Security and Medicare are worth the costs yet they still want “smaller government” (New York Times). “Big government” isn’t inherently bad or evil.

The Tea Party buys into the politicized, conservative mindset that “big government” is wrong but if “big

government” provides necessary, life-saving services to its people, what’s wrong with that?

Through their repeated contradictions, it is blatantly clear that the Tea Party isn’t actually against “big government” and “deficit spending,” it’s just against President Obama and his agenda of change.

They can wave their flags and homemade posters, they can carry their guns and stage their rallies, they can be angry, and eventually they can huff and puff their way into oblivion–– because that’s where they belong.

Opinion

Page

April 30, 2010

3

Is nationalized education the answer? around Redondo

PRO

Once admired as the greatest country in the world, can the United States of America retain its title as a leading power when international education studies have ranked the U.S population 29th in math and 35th in science?

Students have found that the main problem is the inconsistency of the current education system that is run by individual state standards, Melissa Rosero meaning that every state can create its own unique set of standards.

Because of the current system, the United States education has dwindled so far that it has almost reached a state of no return if national standards are not implemented immediately.

According to studies made by various organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), students in the USA score lower than those in other countries.

Since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 passed stating that each year, every state must increase the level of students meeting the “proficient” level - the variation in state tests has resulted in an inconsistency in curricula throughout the United States, as each state can determine their own “proficient” level.

Although states are showing student “improvement,” the NAEP begs to differ. According to the NAEP, only one state out of the 48 states that participated, had set their proficiency level at par with NAEP’s proficiency level.

The current form in which our states administer education is as meaningless as a football game overlooked by referees with different rules. Football fans would hardly tolerate a world where different football teams had different definitions for a first down, allowing some to meet the goal after seven yards, while requiring 10 or 12 yards of the other teams.

So why should the citizens of the Unites States tolerate an inadequate education system?

If every state except one, cannot handle the responsibility of setting adequately rigorous standards, then there is only one answer - the nationalization of standards.

Of course, there is no way to predict that by nationalizing standards that the Unites States’ educational level will ascend. But we can predict that the nationalization of

standards will work, as all the nations that scored in the top ten for both science and math, all but one - Canada have unified national standards.

One would generally associate the nationalization of anything to require government intervention, but since most states avoid federal rule, states can choose to voluntarily adopt a set of national standards.

Having this in mind, the American Diploma Project (ADP) conducted a Summit conference which created a coalition between 13 states, which has now expanded to 35 states, who essentially have agreed to voluntarily implement a national standard. Only five years later, 31 of the 35 states reported having college and career-ready standards compared to the insufficient standards they all started with.

By implementing an effective set of national standards, this will ensure that students across the United States learn a rigorous level of curricula, such that it will eventually affect post-graduation workforce contribution by increasing the countries international academic competitiveness.

Not only will national standards benefit the country economically as a whole, but a uniform set of standards will align assessments throughout every state so that states can focus on developing and improving any areas that are falling behind to ultimately create a standard level of education.

With budget cuts sweeping the state and the talk of education reforms on the horizon, changing educational standards has been called into question. Would nationalized education standards be more efficient, or should we stick with statewide standards?

Do you think that a nationalized or state curriculum would be better for students?

Why or why not?

“Statewide curriculum standards are more beneficial to students because they allow each state to meet the specific needs of their students.”

–Ava Elsner, 11

“Nationwide, because if everyone is following the same standards, then everyone will be at the same level.”

– Trace Dantzig, 9

“Statewide standards are more beneficial because each should be able to determine what’s best for its own students.”

– Maraia Rotolante, 12

“Nationwide standards would make it easier to hold everyone accountable for the education of students.”

– Edward Sandoval, 10 “Statewide, states should have control over what they teach, and greater accountability for the success of their students.”

CON Mark Rieth

All school curricula need standards to ensure that teachers cover the proper material. These standards, however, put a restraint on what teachers can cover.

Nationalizing educational standards for all subjects is unnecessary and does not allow for flexibility in a school’s curriculum.

Having states decide the standards would result in similar standards across the nation while allowing for

more flexibility.

State standards would also allow for school districts to teach material that is more applicable to their area.

Middle school and high school students in Nevada aren’t as concerned about marine biology as, say, students in Redondo Beach.

While learning about marine biology is important, students in Nevada would be better off spending that

portion of their biology class learning about something more applicable, such as desert ecosystems and the impact that humans have on them.

Having each state decide the academic standards would allow for students and teachers to focus more on material that matters to them.

Even when states decide their own educational standards, most of the material taught throughout the nation would be the same.

There should be some national unity and cohesiveness with educational standards, and this unity will come about naturally. Obviously, there is hardly any room for discretion when deciding the standards for a geometry class, or any math class for that matter.

Geometry is geometry wherever you teach it.

So even if the states decide the standards, many classes would be unaffected, and those classes that are affected would be have similar core requirements.

State standards ensure that teachers will go over all that is necessary for a certain course while still allowing for a more personalized education.

One way to personalize education would be through history classes. Although most high school history classes focus on either world history or Ameri-

can history, middle school and elementary school history classes could focus on the specific state or region in which the school resides. With national standards at all school levels, this would not be a possibility.

Another advantage to having states determine educational standards is that they would then have the power to change standards within certain regions of the state. For example, schools in San Diego or other regions close to the border could have different language requirements than schools in rural Northern California.

Having state standards would make the required classes more practical for all students. Let’s face it—it is impossible to cover all of biology in one high school freshman class.

So we might as well teach what matters most to the students at that particular school. Most of the material covered in the class will be the same in California as it is in Wyoming, and most schools will offer much of the same classes.

However, with statewide standards, there is room for a small amount of discretion, and this added flexibility will make school more practical and engaging.

–James Reed, 12

“Both standards right now are disappointingly low. But National Standards would be better because they are traditionally more rigorous than state standards.”

– Shannon Rodriguez, Economics teacher

“Nationwide, so that everyone in the country receives the same education and has equal opportunities.”

– Curtis Paine, 9

Compiled by Cody Anderson and Daniel Fallon

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Features

4

April 30, 2010

Gonzales paints towers for charity

by Shayna Stuart

Say goodbye to pastel blue lifeguard towers and hello to a new community of vibrant designs from Portraits of Hope.

The lifeguard towers, stretching from Palos Verdes to Malibu, will remain decorated through the end of September 2010.

Portraits of Hope looks to encourage art education by integrating oral and visual presentation skills to enrich the lives of children and adults–many of who are coping with adversity or serious illnesses.

Portraits of Hope is an organization that has made appearances on the CNN news for its vibrant decorations throughout the city of New York.

This organization and more than 800 hospitals, schools, and social service agencies have come together to create all different kinds of art projects. Their art is well known for the floral designs and array of neon colors.

According to the foundation, the flower is the universal icon of life, youth, beauty, hope, and inspiration. Geometric shapes are also core design elements in the public projects because it is believed that the young participants will be responsible for “shaping the future.”

Senior Sydney Gonzales is associated with this organization through a family friend who donated plastic for the project.

“I got to meet the Massey brothers, who are the creators of the foundation, and they really inspired me to get involved with their program,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales believes that it is important for the kids to get involved because it brings hope to the elderly and disabled.

“It gives them a sense of pride when

they see their artwork in such a public place,” she said.

This year, the Massey Brothers are bringing the Portraits of Hope to Los Angeles during the “Color of Summer.”

They plan to brighten up the beaches by decorating lifeguard towers from Malibu to Palos Verdes.

“They chose lifeguard towers because it’s like the universal icon for the beach,” Gonzales said. “Just like they chose to decorate taxi cabs in New York.”

However, the artwork will not be permanent and the pastel blue of the lifeguard towers will soon return.

The tower artwork will be created on temporary, flex thin-board panels that will be applied onto the outer surface of the tower structure itself.

Once the panels are removed from the towers, they will not go to waste. The panels will then be sent to Haiti, New Orleans, and Chile as a part of city decorations.

“It is an eco-friendly way of recycling.

This way we can brighten up other cities too,” she said.

On April 25, Portraits of Hope organized a group of volunteers to help decorate the railings of the towers.

“I think it was a really great project, especially for seniors, because it might be their last summer here and it is a great way to contribute to your community,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales believes that even if you don’t get a chance to help physically, you can help by admiring the artwork and spreading the word throughout the country to family and friends.

“This organization isn’t very well known but it really is a life saver to these kids and it helps promote the necessity for art education,” she said.

Students and teachers stranded in Europe n Students and teachers

1.

2.

by Camille Duong

3.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SYDNEY GONZALES

1. The Portraits of Hope foundation allowes disable kids to participate in decorating the lifeguard towers. 2-3. The lifeguard towers will be decorated, as demonstrated in these images.

Want to learn more?

If you are interested in any future volunteer opportunities or want to find out more information on Portraits of Hope, visit their website or contact the Gonzales family at www.portraitsofhope.org or Sydrose@earthlink.net.

Media Art students adjust to new teachers

by Allison Salazar

Broadcasting and media arts classes have managed to adjust to changes in the class, despite the absence of media arts teacher Louis Haddad.

After going through a couple of temporary substitutes, Franklin Retana took over, and he was supposed to be a longterm sub.

His credentials were valid at the time, however they expired so he was replaced after spring break.

The current substitute Charlie Powel, has had experience in the film industry and has taught the class at SCROC, according to assistant principal John Newman.

“I imagine it might not be at the same pace than before because the substitutes had to figure out what was being done before they were there and then build upon that. Although some time was lost I don’t believe that the students have had a significant loss overall; they are

still learning important information,” he said.

Senior Joseph Solares took media arts freshman year, and is currently in broadcasting.

He believes the broadcasting classes were affected with the absence of Haddad.

“The substitutes tried to be strict, but the majority of the students would not listen to them so eventually they just gave up. The majority of the students still did the work but it was done with less effort,” he said.

While the substitutes filled in, Mr. Haddad’s T.A.’s were in charge of the equipment and helped run the class.

Various students who had taken the class before also contributed while everyone adjusted, according to Solares and Newman “There are some key student leaders who have really helped the substitutes.

They have done an incredible job help-

ing run the class and keeping track of the projects,” Newman said.

Despite the progress, there have been some doubts about the future of the class.

“The class is interesting and has a lot of different aspects. There is a variety of students from freshman to seniors.”

—Joseph Solares Newman believes the class will not be dropped because it is popular among students.

As long as there are enough students interested it will be available.

“I know a student in the past that benefited tremendously from it. The class allows students to use different types of

equipment. If it were dropped it would be a loss because it provides experience with different types of equipment, and journalistic principles,” he said.

The students were not informed about the incident immediately after it happened.

However, there was a press release and other accessible information available via the web, according Newman.

“I am sure many of them heard rumors around campus. Mrs. Little went in to every one of [Haddad’s] classes and explained that he would not be there due to a leave of absence,” he said.

Solares agrees and has enjoyed his experience in the class so far.

“The class is interesting and has a lot of different aspects. There is a variety of students from freshmen to seniors. I have to say, my favorite part of the class is probably going out and shooting the footage we need for our news stories,” he said.

Oetzell pursues art career despite loss of mentor

by Victoria Balding

When junior Alex Oetzell signed up to take art classes as a child she thought it would be an entertaining summer activity, but it turned into a life changing experience and inspired her to pursue her desire to be an artist.

When she was six she was enrolled in an art class with Julie Tedesco, an artist who inspired Oetzell and helped make her the artist she is today.

“It was a lot of fun and I really liked it because my parents were so proud of my work it made me happy Julie taught me so much about art and life,” Oetzell said.

When Tedesco passed away in March this year of leukemia, Oetzell was devastated.

“I was in shock and didn’t believe it because she was such a strong person. It finally sunk in when I looked up her obituary, I saw the picture and broke down,” Oetzell said.

Oetzell attended art classes with Tedesco every summer until she was too old to attend, and then she began assisting Tedesco with teaching.

“She taught me so much about art and how to work with all different kinds of paints, water color, pastels, markers, pencils and any other material, but she especially taught me how to follow directions,” Oetzell joked.

Tedesco taught all different types of

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEX OETZELL

Junior Alex Oetzell continues to pursue her love of art, even with the loss of her mentor. She is dedicating this painting to her mentor, Julia Tedesco, who played a big role in her art career.

art and used all different supplies in her classes; she wanted her students to be able to work with a wide variety of materials in order to reach their full artistic potential.

“Julie was the person who got me into art and made me want to pursue it as a career,” Oetzell said.

Oetzell is currently in the advanced placement art program at Redondo, and after high school she wants to continue art and turn her passion into her ca-

reflect on their experiences, being stranded in Europe after the Eyjafjallajökull volcanoe errupted in Iceland over spring break.

reer.

Oetzell has competed in several art competitions and has been awarded money for her work. In sixth grade, she entered the Water Is Life contest and won a laptop.

“It was really easy to win when I was younger but now there are so many extremely talented people,” Oetzell said.

Oetzell also has competed and placed multiple times in the Women’s Art Contest, winning various cash rewards and

prizes.

“I was really excited about the last one because people made donations for the piece they liked the best and I got the second most money out of everyone entered in the show,” Oetzell said.

However it wasn’t just art the Oetzell learned from Tedesco, she also taught her lessons about life and how to be a strong person.

Oetzell is trying to accept the death, but at the same time, wishes her mentor could be there with her as she pursues her art career.

“I’m just sad that she won’t be here to see my accomplishments in the future. I hope she would have been proud of me,” Oetzell said.

Since the death, Oetzell has decided to dedicate pieces of her art in memory of Tedesco in order to raise awareness and do make something for which Tedesco could be remembered with.

“I wanted to do something for her to show how much she meant to me and how much she changed my life,” Oetzell said.

Even though all the pieces are not finished Oetzell has already finished several that are in memory of Tedesco.

“Even though she’s gone she’ll always be with me pushing me to do better and giving me tips, she impacted a lot of people’s lives and is the voice in my head encouraging me to succeed,” Oetzell said.

When sophomore Steven Thomas and Spanish teacher Cynthia Leathers left for Europe over spring break, they did not expect their stay to be prolonged by volcanic ash.

On April 14, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted for a second time, sending ash miles high, which caused air travel disruption with many flights.

All flights to and from northwestern Europe were cancelled until the ash cleared out of the sky. This left both Leathers and Thomas stranded in Europe.

Both Thomas and Leathers returned to the United States on Monday.

Leathers, who left for England to visit her family, found out about the volcano when her flight from Vienna to Bonn was held up.

“We almost weren’t allowed to fly back to Bonn,” Leathers said. “Luckily we made it back to Bonn and my brother’s comfortable apartment.”

Thomas, who left for Germany to visit his brother, was shocked about what had happened.

“I wanted to go home,” Thomas said.

“But instead I was stuck in England for an unknown period of time.”

Thomas was trapped in Europe for an extra eight days.

According to Leathers, she felt panicky when she realized that the problem was not going to be fixed in merely a few days.

“I felt pretty helpless,” Leathers said.

“But we made the most of our extra couple of days.”

According to Thomas, e-mailing his teachers has helped him keep up with school work.

“They sent me assignments, notes, and arranged make-up dates,” Thomas said.

“I have missed a lot of tests and quizzes, which can hopefully be made up, but I think I have kept up with all my homework.”

According to Leathers, she also kept in touch with students through e-mail.

“It was fun to be able to communicate with them,” Leathers said. “Having email and Facebook really helped.”

According to Leathers, she sent her lessons to Michelle Obear in the office, who printed them out for the substitutes to follow.

“I have also had other help too,” she said. “The other Spanish teachers have helped locate handouts and a movie for me.”

She has also received a lot of help from her Teacher’s Assistant Andrew Fujimoto.

“He has been in contact with me through e-mail and run lots of errands, working with other teachers to make sure that everything would be ready every day,” she said.

Leathers also understands her absence from the classroom has been difficult for her students, but believes they have done a good job dealing with it.

“They have a good sub,” she said. “But he does not speak Spanish, so I know it is hard for them.”

According to Leathers, this experience has been an interesting adventure and has taught her a lot.

“It is interesting that this week is Earth Week and this volcano is reminding me to pay attention to this planet,” Leathers said.

According to Leathers, friends, family and colleagues have been supportive about this experience and have helped made the process as easy and smooth as possible.

“They all encouraged me to not worry about work and home and to just take advantage of my extra time here,” Leathers said.

Features

April 30, 2010

Page

Job’s Daughters gives Shaw leadership skills

by Cammille Mitchell

Senior Chanel Shaw has been a member of Job’s Daughters since the age of 11. Job’s Daughters is an organization that works to help out around the community and create friendships that last a lifetime.

“The purpose of Job’s Daughter’s is to teach young women the foundation of character, respect, family, honor and morals,” Shaw said.

To become a member one has to have a former mason, a member of the masonic party, in their family and fill out a petition of membership.

Job’s Daughters hosts several special ceremonies, some of which include initiation of new members, installation of new cabinet positions and charity sponsor events.

There are five cabinet positions: Marshal, Guide, Junior Princess, Senior Princess and Honored Queen. Honored Queen is the highest office and each position is rotated every six months.

The queen plans a six month calendar of activities for her bethel, a masonic lodge, where the members come together to participate within the term. The activities must include a going to church on Sundays educational trips, community service and sponsoring a charity.

“[Job’s Daughters] teaches leadership skills, communication, organization and planning. Being Honored Queen is a full time Job so those skills prepare you for running the bethel when the time comes,” Shaw said.

There are a variety of activities including movie nights, car washes, mystery dinners and trips, and dances that bring the members together in a way that creates close bonds.

“The benefits of being a Job’s Daughter are leadership, organizational skills, respect, and gaining a whole other family.” Shaw said.

Job’s Daughters sponsors the Hearing Impaired Kids Endowment (H.I.K.E.) fund and a charity each year that is chosen at Grand Bethel every June.

A Grand Bethel is a convention of all the bethels in California that come together for a 3 days session. The event is held to choose a Grand Bethel Honored Queen and celebrated with a variety show and a dance on the last night.

“Each bethel makes ‘look-alikes’ which are fabric that’s the same but we all make our dresses with our own unique creativity on it. We get to meet Jobies from all over California so its a pretty major event in the

Deloach works towards a career as an OB-GYN

by Annica Stitch

PHOTO COURTSEY OF CHANEL SHAW

Senior Chanel Shaw sits with her grandmother at her installation as Honored Queen. Shaw is a member of Job’s daughters, a philanthropic organization for women with a former mason in their family.

year,” she said.

Unfortunately, Shaw will age out at 20 but may still participate in its other activities.

“There are other things I can still partake in such as being a Grand Bethel Girl, or running for Miss California Job’s Daughter,” Shaw said.

Shaw’s father is proud of the progress she has made and is grateful to the organization. “ I saw my daughter enter Job’s Daughters

as shy young girl who over the years has learned confidence and learned how to act and behave as a young woman in formal settings. Seeing her progress has given me a lot of pride and happiness,” Scott Shaw, Chanel’s father, said.

Shaw finds that it has shaped her life in a positive way and appreciates the skills she’s attained.

“Job’s Daughters has been a big part of my life and has played a big part of making me who I am today,” Shaw said.

Cruz volunteers time and effort at local helpline

by Kaitee Scheyer

Community Helpline is a non-profit listening, crisis, and referral hotline in our community that allows teen and adult volunteers to devote time to listening and providing referrals to callers in need.

Similar to the 211 service, Community Helpline has social service directories and resources in the community for callers to use.

Junior Nic Cruz volunteers at Community Helpline.

“We provide a safe place for callers to talk about their feelings and we focus mainly on listening,” Cruz said.

Cruz typically works at the Helpline three days a week.

“We get calls from people who just want to be listened to, when no one else in their life really cares. It’s a time for them to talk freely,” he said.

The helpline started 40 years ago,

originally located in Palos Verdes and called the Palos Verdes Switch Board.

Open seven days a week, 365 days a year, from seven in the morning to ten at night, the helpline takes roughly 700 calls every month ­— about 200 of those calls are made by suicidal callers.

According to volunteer and outreach coordinator Colleen Sass, the helpline must do an initial evaluation of suicidal callers.

“When we get these suicide callers, callers who are so desperate, we go through an evaluation, asking questions like ‘Do you really want to kill yourself or do you just want the pain to go away?’

Blatant questions that people in their lives are too afraid to ask them,” Sass said.

Without the ability to track callers to find out their location or phone number, the helpline cannot guarantee what will happen to the caller after they hang up.

“We try to make sure that [suicidal

5

callers] get the suicide hotline number or another referral, but we cannot get them direct help and can only try to convince them to call,” Sass said.

According to Cruz, after evaluating suicidal callers, the suicide hotline refers callers to Community Helpline, and Community Helpline refers callers to the suicide hotline.

“If [the suicide hotline] doesn’t see the caller as a major threat to themselves, they refer them to us. The usually just need someone to talk to.” Cruz said.

According to Sass, the more critical suicide calls go to the Didi Hirch Prevention Center and suicide hotline.

“We help them to take that next call,” Sass said.

After working with the hotline for ten years, Sass believes she has learned a lot about herself by listening to the callers.

“The most valuable thing, that has also affected my parenting, is the ability to help someone help themselves,” Sass said.

Cruz also believes that he has learned some valuable lessons from volunteering at Community Helpline. “[Community Helpline] is also therapy for the

listeners. You relate your experiences to situations you hear on the lines,”Cruz said.

Abusive callers are also not rare calls at Community Helpline.

“Every time I’ve gotten one I’ve wanted to quit, but it teachers you perseverance.

Their main goal is to make you feel inadequate. It burns you out, but you just have to learn to get over it,” Cruz said.

Community Helpline’s policy is to “Listen” and volunteers are not allowed to give advice.

“When you tell someone what to do, they miss the opportunity to help themselves,” Sass said.

Cruz also believes that the caller benefits more from coming up with solutions on their own.

“Giving advice is forcing your own opinion on someone based on what you know and your own experiences instead of theirs,” he said.

According to Cruz, most people think that giving advice solves a problem. “[Giving advice] doesn’t solve anything, with Community Helpline, I have learned how to be more careful with my words.” Cruz said.

According to Colleen, the callers’ reactions shows listeners how the line helps them.

“It’s so empowering,” Sass said, “to be there for somebody and help them to solve their problem.”

A young mother sits with her baby in her arms as senior Kamille Deloach reassures her and helps put together a car seat.

“I told her it’s going to be okay,” Deloach said.

Deloach volunteers at Torrance Memorial hospital in order to prepare for a career as an OB-GYN. OB stands for obstetrics or obstetrician and GYN stands for gynecology or for gynecologist, a physician who specializes in the female reproductive organs.

At the hospital, discharging mothers and their babies is one of Deloach’s favorite things to do.

Her interest in child care started as a little girl.

“I loved holding little babies and just being around them,” Deloach said.

What really sparked Deloach’s interest in pursuing a career in the medical field was her mother’s illness.

“Just being in the hospital environment where I want to work and people being so nice and positive helps he a lot.”

— Kamille Deloach “My mom really got sick and she’s a single mother so I was the only one who had to take care of her. I was really patient with her and good at taking care of her,” Deloach said.

Volunteering at the hospital with the helpful staff encourages Deloach to reach for her goals.

Volunteering encourages Deloach to pursue a career as an OB-GYN. “Just being in the hospital environment where I want to work and people being so nice and positive helps me a lot,” Deloach said.

Deloach really looks up to the volunteer director at the hospital. The volunteer director has had numerous meetings with Deloach.

“I was telling her how if I didn’t have enough money to go to medical school I was just going to go to nursing school and she said ‘after talking to you I don’t think you should. I think you should be a doctor because that’s what’s in your heart.’

So she’s trying to help me get scholarships and money for school when I do get there,” Deloach said.

Deloach has been accepted to Xavier college and continues to talk to the volunteer director at the hospital.

“She’s inspiring me to say ‘you can do it,’” she said.

Deloach wants to spread this attitude and urges everyone to pursue their dreams.

“Don’t just give up if you don’t have the money. Go all the way, don’t just quit,” Deloach said.

Catuogno trains to be a firefighter

by Annica Stitch

Beads of sweat collect on the forehead of junior Elise Catuogno as she finishes her run back to the fire station and begins tying up and carrying a 50 foot long hose across her shoulders.

In the Explorer Program, Catuogno learns the basics of firefighting in preparation for a future career in fire fighting.

Because Catuogno dreads the thought of sitting at a desk all day she enjoys the activeness of firefighting.

“I can’t sit in an office for a long time. I just don’t see myself being in an office, being a teacher or something like that, just in like a room,” she said.

Although she doesn’t want to be stuck in an office cubicle, Catuongo is fine with sitting in an ambulence all day.

“I really want to help out people too but I didn’t want to be a doctor, so I want to be a firefighter and EMT,” Catuogno said.

Catuogno also likes the versatility and excitement that a career in firefighting offers.

“I would want to be like on the edge and always wondering what’s going to happen. I don’t want to know what’s going to happen the next day. I don’t want to walk into work and know what I have to do, where I have to go and this kind of helps me stay on the edge and I can also help out people too,” Catuogno said.

The program has taught Catuogno many skills that she will need to know as a firefighter, such as how to maintain a hose, tie up a hose, throw a ladder and tie certain types of knots.

According to Catuogno, one of the hardest things to do

is “throwing ladders.” To “throw a ladder” means to open it up or put it up against a wall. When throwing ladders ,students in the program are assisted by a supervisor that has already graduated from the program.

The Explorer Program has also taught Catuogno the basics an emergency medical technician (EMT) should know, like CPR and how to properly put someone on a stretcher. “We have a nickname for [the stretcher]. We call it ‘the sled’ and they’ll teach us how to put somebody on there right and like to always support their head, Catuogno said.

Teamwork is essential in firefighting, according to Catuogno “You always need help and I mean you might be able to do it by yourself but it’s just, it might not be the right way to do it. You always want to be safe,” Catuogno said.

At first Catuogno was the only girl in the program.

“It was kind of weird because I was the weakest one there. All the guys are really strong, but they would support me a lot. It’s like we’re all a team so we can’t ever do anything by ourselves. If I don’t do it, the rest of the team doesn’t do it, so they all encourage me to move on and help me to do stuff,” Catuogno said.

According to Catuongo, when more people started going in the explorer program the more experienced explorers took them under their wing.

“If they don’t know how to do something then you just tell them,” she said.

After Catuogno gets certified she wants to help other explorers get certified through the program, she would also be on reserve as a firefighter.

Features

6 ELL program aids foreign students Page

Lee assists at Korean school

by Brianna Egan

by Kaitee Scheyer

The English Language Learners (ELL) Program provides a learning environment for students who are limited in their English proficiency and are learning the language.

According to the English Language Site Coordinator, Shannon Rodriquez, students do not graduate from the program, but rather it is just another course they can take that provides a setting for them to learn the English language while taking other courses to obtain acedemic and elective requirements for the high school diploma.

According to Assistant Principal Amy Golden, beginning English learners (EL) are provided with an EL class instead of an English class, but the teaching environment is the same as other classrooms.

The teacher of the English Language program, Chichen Lu, tries to create an environment for students where they are not afraid of making mistakes or expressing themselves.

“I personally feel that it is important to create a friendly environment so students will not be afraid of using and exploring English,” she said.

Lu has the students play games such as bingo to help them memorize and practice words, while also giving them chances to do peer corrections and self corrections so they can learn from their own and others’ mistakes.

The program has different levels of English learners; EL I students and EL II and III students.

“For my EL students, I use pictures and [total physical response] to do practices and check for understanding and for my EL II and III students they also learn from watching English clips, newspaper and culture projects. One example is Power Point projects of their home countries,” Lu said.

Although students currently enrolled in the program are meeting literacy requirements made by the state of California, according to Rodriguez, the number of students in the program has been decreasing in the last ten to fifteen years.

“Perhaps the change in demographics has contributed to the change in the number of students enrolled in the EL program. But we don’t know exactly why this number has changed so dramatically,” Rodriguez said.

According to Lu, at the beginning of the year there were six students enrolled in the program and now only four are currently enrolled.

“For some reasons, for example students’ guardians decided to go back to their home country,” she said.

In the program, there is currently one boy from Peru, one boy from Thailand, another boy from Mexico and one girl from Nigeria.

Lu is also the Chinese teacher and considers herself an English learner.

“I am learning from my students while I am teaching,” she said.

April 30, 2010

FOREIGN

INFLUENCE Ohiomoba reflects on her life in Nigeria

by Joy Ohiomoba

February 2, 2002. Lagos, Nigeria.

Tragedy struck. Nineteen civilians were killed. Nineteen homes First Person were burned to ashes. I was only seven years old and I witnessed it all.

On my way back from school, my mom was driving my brother, a classmate, and me, home from school. All three kids were asleep in the car after a long day in the sweltering heat. Then, a peaceful car ride turned into a nightmare.

We drove down a street called Idi-Araba. We didn’t know it, but we had entered into a war-zone; there was a religious riot going on. The Christians and the Muslims had started one of their long-fought battles again. We saw schools burnt down, and churches and mosques on fire. Homes were destroyed and people were running to safety. Everyone was running in different directions as cars tried to find new routes to get out of the riot.

We narrowly escaped death. As we found our way throughout all the chaos, my mom managed to find another route home, but our nightmare was just getting worse.

At this point, I was fully awake. On our way to find a safe way home, we went on a major freeway called Ikorodu Road.

Getting to Ikorodu Road, we found out that the people of Fadeyi (in Ikorodu) had heard of the riot in Idi-Araba. The Fadeyi Christians and Muslims began another riot.

My mom was crying, struggling to maneuver the car out of traffic. There were other parents trying to get their kids safely home, too. People from all areas were coming home from work. Everyone was trying to escape at the same time.

We were so close to death that my mom started to panic frantically. Hoodlums had taken over the freeway; they were vandalizing cars, stealing money, and threatening to kill their victims. They had all sorts of home-made weapons: sticks, glass bottles, and knives.

Luckily for us, a man saw my mother’s

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOY OHIOMOBA

Joy Ohiomoba (upper left) poses for a class picture at the Evaron Nursery and Primary school in Lagos, Nigeria.

condition and came to our rescue. She was scared at first that the man was one of the hoodlums but she agreed. He knew the area of Idi-Araba better than my mom did. He took over the steering from my mom and was able to take us home to safety. The journey was not easy though. We had to wait in a remote abandoned street until some of the chaos had died down. Then, he and my mom cut green leaves which symbolized solidarity. With the green leaves, hopefully, the hoodlums would let us go. When we got home, my mom paid the man some money for his services which ultimately saved our lives.

These incidents were one of many that have occurred in Nigeria. I grew up in Lagos, an area where Hausa-Muslims and Yoruba and Igbo Christians live peacefully but once in a while, conflicts arise. So now, what led to the riot in IdiAraba? Years later, no one really knows what happened and there are different versions of the story.

I would like to say that the riots in Nigeria have stopped since then but they haven’t.

In fact, they have gotten much worse and decades of tribal and religious conflicts have not ended. Recently in March, in

the state of Jos, about 500 Christians were killed during one of the religious conflicts.

A few months before that incident, another 300 Muslims were killed.

Not all my life growing up in Lagos was full of riots though. I had a happy childhood: I attended a Christian private school through my elementary years, went to various amusement parks, and birthday parties.

On weekends, my house would always be filled with laughter when my cousins would come over. Every holiday was spent in my mom’s village, Obosi. From dawn until dusk, I lounged around my grandpa’s farm playing and taking care of the animals. One part of the farm had all the crops and the other part had everything from turkeys to goats to chickens.

I am a proud Nigerian, despite its ups and downs, Nigeria is a welcoming country.

It is blessed with so much culture, tradition, and hospitality from the people. To this day, my family keeps our traditions alive from the ethnic foods we eat to the native language we speak and the traditional attire we wear. I hope to return someday to better the situation in my nation. My homeland of Nigeria will always have a special place in my heart.

It’s bright and early on Saturday, and while most students are catching up on sleep, sophomore Myung Soo Lee eagerly steps into the crisp morning air to spend three hours at yet another school.

Lee volunteers every Saturday morning from 9-12 a.m. at the Peninsula School of the Korean Institute of Southern California (KISC).

After graduating from the school in one year, Lee, a native Korean speaker, has been working as a teacher’s assistant and secretary for the past three months.

Despite the early morning hours, according to Lee, “It’s actually pretty fun to be at the school, teaching and helping out.”

The KISC school system contains nine grade levels spanning from kindergarten to SAT II Korean preparatory level. The curriculum focuses on writing, reading, and speaking the Korean language, as well as learning the customs and history of Korea– with the ultimate goal of passing the SAT II Subject Test.

Lee’s tasks as a volunteer range from filing paperwork to hands-on demonstrations in front of students.

She even recalls teaching a rhyme complete with choreography to a kindergarten class in order to demonstrate the Korean alphabet.

“I helped demonstrate the hand motions to teach basic characters; [the choreography] was so cute,” Lee said.

The Peninsula school, which is comprised entirely of 160 Korean-American students, aims to instill pride in Korean heritage and fluency in the Korean language.

“Our school provides students with the knowledge of the Korean language and culture to help students better understand those of similar backgrounds,” principal of the Peninsula division Duke Soon Kim, said.

According to Kim, there are a total of 12 Saturday Korean schools with 3,000 students and 250 teachers in the entire KISC system, which was initially established as a non-profit organization in 1972.

Kim, as well as the faculty of the Korean school, values Lee and other student volunteers.

“As fluent bilingual students, they are role models and contribute their time and assets to enhance the learning environment,” Kim said.

Lee is grateful for the time she spends at the Korean school, as well.

“It’s been seven years since I immigrated to America from Korea, and I feel like I’m still working to be confident in English and Korean. By helping out, I’m able to improve my fluency in both languages,” Lee said.

She realizes the importance of being bilingual.

“It’s really helpful to know more than one language–I’m able to translate for my parents who are still learning English, and I will have more job opportunities in the future,” she said.

As of now, Lee sees beyond the volunteer hours she is earning.

“The reason why I like working at the Korean school and why I’ll continue working there is because it just makes me happy to be surrounded by people learning and speaking my native language,” she said.

Tobay affected by political unrest in home country A citizens’ overthrow of the Kyrgyz government this month has made an impact on Pearl Tobay’s family.

by Christina Mehranbod

Having gained its independence only 14 years ago, Kyrgyzstan experienced the “Tulip Revolution” in 2005 which forced President Askar Akayev out of office after a presidency consisting mostly of corruption and nepotism. Thinking that Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s term will better Kyrgyzstan’s stability, the citizens were disappointed when he failed to restore confidence in government at home.

On April 6, the discontented citizens overthrew the government of the country and began a period of violence in the fragile country.

Junior Pearl Tobay moved from Kyrgyzstan in 2004, a year before the Tulip Revolution, and still remains in contact with members of her close family living in the heart of the violence.

“I have been going hour by hour to see what’s going on. The actual overthrow was very precise and planned, but there was a lot of shooting in the center where the White

House is because of people trying to storm the place,” Tobay said.

According to Tobay, many of the citizens of Kyrgyzstan have conspired theories of Russia supporting the opposition group of Roza Otunbayeva because Bakiyev was supposedly not being cooperative with Russia’s desires.

“The situation is not calmer. but during the actual revolt, there was a sniper on every building, even one on top of the building where my grandma lives.” — Pearl Tobay “The faster [the Russians] got the president out safely without making a mess, the faster the new government would take his place. The situation is now calmer, but during the actual revolt, there was a sniper on every building, even one on top of the building where my grandma lives,” Tobay said.

Tobay had been searching for constant updates about the situation in her home

country because the day of the revolution, her mother Chynara Tobay was due to travel to Kyrgyzstan, the location of political turmoil.

According to Chynara, the trip was absolutely necessary because her father, Pearl’s grandfather, was in a poor physical condition and she would just have to risk her safety for this trip. “[In Kyrgyzstan] the dead were remembered, the pictures of the beaten, dead bodies were exposed. Like every other revolution, this one had an ugly side as well,” Chynara said.

With plans to visit her birthplace this summer, Pearl doubts the possibility of her dream turning into reality because of this “out of the blue” revolution, according to Tobay.

Nevertheless, with constant political changes and the lack of stability economically and politically, both Chynara and Pearl worry about the safety of their family abroad and the future of their homeland.

“As of now, the future of the country is uncertain due to the lack of a stable government, since the sparks of civil war have erupted during this revolution,” Chynara said. “I hope that the safety of upcoming events will not compromise the safety of my family, and hope that soon Kyrgyzstan will get on the road of economic recovery.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF PEARL TOBAY

Pearl Tobay swimming in Kyrgyzstan, where she spent her childhood. Tobay immigrated with her family to the U.S. in 2004.

Sports

April 30, 2010

Page

Lacrosse ends season

by Olivia Loveland

The boys’ lacrosse season will end today in their last game against Chadwick after losing to Palos Verdes Wednesday afternoon 17-1.

When the team headed up yesterday afternoon to PV, they knew that they were going to be faced with a good team.

“They’re fourth in Southern California for a reason,” senior Shane Flannery said.

The team expects to end its season with a win today against Chadwick since they have previously beat them 10-1.

“It’s our last game so we’ll mix it up a little and try to have fun,” Flannery said.

The play-offs are not in sight for Redondo so today will be the end of their season.

“We’re supposed to win but we’re still going to try hard,” senior Adam Burke said.

Last week, the team had a win against Beverly Hills 12-2 and a loss to Downey 128.

“It’s always fun playing Beverly Hills because we always beat them, so everyone was ready to hustle and play hard. We were able to run our offense [plays] correctly because there were no mistakes [made],” Flannery said.

The winds also played into effect during the Beverly Hills game, causing some difficulty on defense.

Golf sends four players to CIF Finals

“It was really hard to hear especially if coaches were yelling plays. It was hard to communicate, especially on defense,” Flannery said.

Against Downey, the team felt that they were closely matched, according to Flannery.

“We played really well in the first half, but then we had mental mistakes that they

by Shannon Bowman

“This season was frustrating at times. I’m glad someone stepped up to coach us and had a positive attitude. ” —Bennett Trotter capitalized on,” Flannery said.

This was the second time they played against Downey, and although they still lost, it was closer than their first game against them.

“We competed and had good efforts, but they had it more together,” Burke said.

Seniors Flannery, Burke, and Bennett Trotter reflect on how the program has grown since it first started their freshman year.

PHOTO BY DANIEL FALLON

Looking to make a pass, junior Taylor Romero dodges away from an oncoming defender.

“I thought the team got a lot better as a whole. This season was frustrating at times...

I’m glad someone stepped up to coach us and always had a positive attitude,” Trotter said.

This season was different in that there were

twice as many games played and sometimes three or four games in one week.

“It’s always fun to have a lot of games but three or four games a week doesn’t leave time to work on problems,” Flannery said.

Tennis hopes for CIF wildcard spot

by Alix Politanoff

The boys’ tennis team lost against Mira Costa yesterday 14-4, leaving their overall record 10-9, and Bay League record 2-5.

Senior Dylan McCarthy personally did well against Costa but said that the team did have some trouble playing well because of the extreme wind.

“It was frustrating that my partner and I

PHOTOS BY KIMBER LOGAN

Left: Senior singles player Robert Tekie performs a forehand in a match against Costa. The team has qualified for a CIF wildcard berth. Right: Senior Kevin Shin plays in the match against Costa. The team plays Peninsula next Monday.

7

were the only few people on the team that won sets. We were able to adjust to the wind, but I think the rest of the team had trouble. In addition, Costa was playing pretty well, and we were unable to maintain the aggression we had maintained playing against West,” he said.

Despite the loss against Costa, the team was able to pull out a 9-9 win against West on Monday, and McCarthy feels that this season has been one of the best throughout his four years on the team and he’s feeling confident that he will be able to end the last few games by making it to CIF. “It’s been four years of coming up just short of being picked to go to CIF, so we would be extremely happy if we make it.

Now that we have placed better than the other four years we are very hopeful,” he said.

Coach Jessica Seibert also feels that the team has a decent chance of getting into CIF, because in the previous year the boys weren’t able to come out with two wins against West and place 4th in League.

“It’s looking good that we can apply for a wild-card and get admitted to the wildcard playoffs, and if we get past that then we would be admitted to the main draw,” she said.

While the team has CIF in its sights, the boys still have one more game against Peninsula next Monday, and although the outlook is “grim,” the team is still looking to compete.

“With Peninsula we’re mainly looking to hang with them rather than beat them.

We just want to get some points on the scoreboard to prove that we can be competitive with them,” Seibert said.

While Peninsula is currently the #1 team in Bay League, junior Collin Matthews plans to just have fun and make them work as much as he can.

“I think that we will try to keep close sets with all of them, and we will also try to go into the match with a positive attitude and not try to beat ourselves even though Peninsula is one of the best teams in the Bay League,” he said.

Seibert further plans to strengthen doubles for the next match because there has been no solid #3 doubles team due to illness and injuries, and she plans to work on the singles players as well.

“We’re definitely going to work on doubles and I’ll have the singles players really push each other to get their match plays strong as possible, being that we’re playing some of the toughest Bay League singles players,” she said.

Boys’ golf is preparing for league finals and CIF after losing to Mira Costa 197190 last Thursday.

Coach Loreen Trevino is proud that the team scored under their goal of 200.

The team only lost by seven stokes, an accomplishment against Costa.

“We really showed we’re a competitive force,” Trevino said. “Numbers don’t lie. It was a true accomplishment.”

Kenny Cole, sophomore, had the best score on the team and shot par.

“It was nice to finally play well,” he said. “I hadn’t been doing that good [this season].”

According to Trevino, Kenny is good at his short game.

“He really finishes strong and holds his own,” she said.

Trevino is excited for CIF this season.

Last year, only two players qualified. Four players currently qualify for league finals this year: Kenny Cole, Matt Ferradas, Ray Malazzo, and George Whitson.

“[In the game against Costa], we really showed we’re a competitive force. Numbers don’t lie.

It was a true accomplishment. ” —Loreen Trevino “The boys really have a strong desire this year,” she said.

George Whitson, junior, agrees.

“We knew we would have a chance to get past the first round of CIF,” he said.

“We ended the season with our confidence high.”

This is Cole’s second year qualifying for CIF, and is “less of a big deal”, according to him.

“I just hope I do well in the actual tournament,” he said.

Trevino believes the increase in qualified players is due to a strong personal commitment from each player and comraderie.

“They really push each other to be better,” she said. “Everyone’s maturing as a player.”

This week, the boys didn’t have a game. Athletes who qualified for CIF have practice at the courses they’ll be playing on next week. Those who don’t qualify have an “end-of-season” round with Torrance.

“We’re looking forward to CIF,” Trevino said. “We’ll be up against the best of the best.”

CIF starts May 3rd.

Club team goes to Spain

by Shayna Stuart

Sports are universal activities that connect people of all different ethnicities, cultures, and countries. That’s why senior Ariel Manz and sophomore Tiffany Morales couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play volleyball in Spain with their club team.

“It was my first time traveling outside of the country and I was so thrilled that we were going to Spain,” Manz said.

Both Manz and Morales are on the Mizuno Long Beach club team but are in different divisions based on their ages. However, the entire program traveled to Spain where they played against Spain’s Junior National Team.

“We got to play at one of the Olympic campuses which blew my mind. The facility was awesome,” Morales said.

According to Manz, the volleyball program trains its players differently in Spain.

“They are more calm and collected then we are, especially during rough games,” Manz said.

Manz believes that her team benefitted overall from playing abroad.

“They had consistent energy when they played, so that was an advantage they had over us because we sometimes lost our energy,” she said.

Morales agrees that the teams were always under control and never got down on themselves or their teammates.

“There was no panic in them. Most teams in the United States panic,” Morales said.

The teams differed in both their mentality and game

play.

“They play with a heavier ball and they focus more on their offense, unlike our team who is more defensebased,” Morales said.

The trip did not solely revolve around volleyball however. The girls also went sight-seeing and experienced the culture of Spain.

According to Morales, the trip was great because they only played three out of the eight days, and the rest was up to them.

“My favorite city was Sevilla. There was this huge Cathedral that was so ancient and meticulously designed.

It was beautiful,” Morales said.

Manz agrees with Morales, but believes that the group had the most fun in Madrid because it was full of shopping centers.

“We basically got to go off in our own little groups and explore the city. It was just us girls in a brand new city,” Manz said.

Both Manz and Morales were excited and relieved when they first found out that they were going to Spain because they had taken Spanish as their foreign language.

“I got to put the things I learned into use, like asking where something was,” Morales said.

However, according to Manz, the biggest difficulty that she ran into was a language barrier.

“It was hard to find the right words and they would just stare blankly at us. But, for the most part, the people there were very nice and tried to help us as much as they could,” Manz said.

Manz loved Spain because it was so different from where she grew up.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ARIEL MANZ

Seniors Ariel Manz, Jessica Doerner and sophomore Tiffany Morales pose with their club team in Spain. They competed against the Spain Jr. national team.

“There’s no Wi-Fi internet and everything is just way more simple and basic,” she said.

While in Spain, both Manz and Morales became accustomed to the culture in Spain.

“There is little to no emphasis on breakfast but a huge emphasis on lunch. The stores close down and everyone goes home to eat and take a nap,” Manz said. “It was hard to get used to at first, but once I got used to it it was kind of nice.”

According to Morales, the team went “nocturnal” due to the fact that the social hour in Spain starts much later than in the United States.

“I would find myself walking around the city with

hundreds of people around me at like one in the morning,” Morales said.

If given the chance to return back to Spain, both Morales and Manz would love to return.

“We exchanged facebooks with the girls and are keeping in touch because we really got to bond while we were there,” Manz said.

Manz aspires to one day go back to Spain to play professional volleyball, and maybe even meet up with some of her new friends.

“If I got offered to play over seas there, it would be great. The teams are so closely knit and I know it would be a great experience,” Manz said.

JV/Frosh

Page

Sports

8

April 30, 2010

fast Softball stats beats Peninsula

FROSH

SOFTBALL

Score vs Torrance: 11-1 W Overall Record: 4-26

JV

TENNIS Score vs Costa: 15-3 L League Record: 9-9

FROSH

JV

BASEBALL Score vs West: 5-4 W Quote: “Our plan is to stay hot with wins and keep hitting the ball like we do,” junior Tommy Huberty said.

Score vs West: 4-3 L Quote: “The pitcher was pitching low 40’s and no one would wait on the ball, so most people stuck out or had bad hits,” freshman Simeon Phillips said.

LACROSSE JV

Girls’

Score vs PV: 12-4 W League Record: 10-0

JV/Frosh

sports shorts

by Julia Denny

The girls’ varsity lacrosse team is not the only part of Redondo’s lacrosse program in the spotlight; with a record of 11-0, the JV Girls’ lacrosse team should not remain unrecognized.

Not only is this first year team, but JV girls’ lacrosse remained undefeated in Bay League this season.

“I don’t think anyone expected us to come this far, so it really feels great for everyone,” junior Hayley Lane said.

Lane notes that there weren’t any set goals at the beginning of the season, rather the team just focused on playing their best every game.

Without any expectations going into the season, coach Emily Walkley credits her team’s success to its intense work ethic.

“We had nothing to lose, and everyone always worked extremely hard during practice. I think that’s what truly contributed to our success,” she said.

The JV girls were inspired by their varsity counterparts throughout the season, according to sophomore Alex Furmansky. “[Varsity] really helps us when we scrimmage, and knowing that they went undefeated for so long has really motivated us to do well this season,” Furmansky said.

For most of the JV team, this is their first year playing the sport, and it is their athletic ability that has strengthen their performance as a team, according to Lane.

“Everyone is really capable and experienced in lots of different sports, making the transition to lacrosse easy,” Lane said.

Hailey Newman, Brittany Ross, and Allison Kotzbach joined lacrosse after soccer season and now are “key” players, due to their athleticism and understanding of the game.

“I was impressed with how quickly some of these girls were able to catch on,” Walkley said.

However, sophomores Charlotte Kim, Ciara Davis, and Marisa Schlichter, have helped lead the team this year, due to their previous experience.

“They understand some of the more finesse parts of lacrosse, which is helpful for everybody,” Lane said.

The team is hopeful for next year’s season, and is planning on working hard the rest of the year to keep their title for another season.

“We want to continue dominating, and continue growing.

I see no reason why we should stop now,” Walkley said.

by Kaelee Epstien

The softball team beat Peninsula, 10-2 Wednesday afternoon.

After playing “strong” defense and making good hits the team won.

“We were getting in a lot of strong hits when we needed them most, and we were making good plays on defense,” senior Linda Park said.

Despite the “rough” start to the season, the girls have shown improvements since League started.

“The girls have improved mostly on their hitting. Today they came out strong and got an early lead,” coach Jennifer Desert said.

Park and junior Jullian Mattor have been consistent hitters, according to Desert.

The focus of their practices has shifted since the beginning of the year. The team has been going through new hitting drills and focusing on the hitters stance while at the plate according to Desert.

In order to beat PV today and West on Wednesday, the team has been staying focused in practice, splitting practice time between hitting and fielding.

“Everyone stays involved in the game, whether they’re on the bench or in the game,” Park said.

Desert is proud of the girls, and enjoys watching them succeed.

“The girls respect each other and get along very well for a high school softball team. I am proud of them for keeping their heads strong while having such a tough pre-season.

The lessons learned early have sunk in and the girls are rewarding themselves by winning,” she said.

PHOTO BY JAKE COLLINS

PHOTO BY JAKE COLLINS

Track is Bay League Champion

by Alison Peet-Lukes

Track beat Leuzinger last night, winning the title of Bay League Champion.

According sophomore Patrick Borgerding, the distance team had success because Leuzinger did not have many distance runners.

“We were basically competing against ourselves, which let many runners try different events,” he said.

Borgerding believes that the distance team was focusing on preparing for Bay League Preliminals more than making a personal record.

“We are really focused on making ourselves better for Bay League because it decides who goes to State,” he said.

According to sophomore Haley Miller, the sprints team

performed well against Leuzinger as well.

“We won by a lot because the everyone is more dedicated, we cheer each other on,” she said.

Last Tuesday, the girls distance team won against Mira Costa for the first time in over 30 years.

Sophomore Lyndsey Mull believes that the win was due to a strong start in the meet.

“We started off placing first, second, or third in all of the important events, which gave us enough points to finally beat them,” she said.

The boys’ team did not perform as well against Mira Costa, according to freshman Evan Malone-White.

“Our nerves got to us, and many boys lost focus. Mira Costa won early races which demoralized the remaining

Volleyball loses to Palos Verdes

by Allie Goldberg

Boys’ volleyball lost Tuesday 1525, 16-25, 25-18, 25-19 to Palos Verdes, and is now concentrating on this weekends tournament.

Although admitting that PV has a very good team, coach Duncan Avery is not satisfied with his teams’ performance last tuesday.

“We didn’t compete hard the first couple games,” he said. “It was kind of a wake up call.”

However, Avery believes that they boys started playing in the third game.

“We just played harder, and with a greater sense of urgency,” he said.

Junior Austin Moore believes that as a smaller team, they really need to work together.

“PV is a big team, there is no denying that, but I think our team should have been able to hang with them,” he said. “We have a lot of great players and as a team, we are capable of greatness.”

The team has made many necessary improvements now that they are in the second round of the Bay League, according to Moore.

“We have just gotten more consistent as a team,” Moore said. “ We push ourselves in practice so we are able to play at a high level.”

According to senior Matt Cataldo, serving and passing have been strongpoints.

“Our serving gets other teams out of system and our passing lets us run a good offense,” he said.

Going into the first game of the tournament today, the team plans to look past Tuesday’s game and play like their best.

According to Avery, the teams in their bracket include La Jolla, Beverly Hills, and Oak Park.

“We have been practicing hard and competing at a higher level,” Avery said.

According to Cataldo, focus and energy will be key in todays game.

Girl’s lacrosse beat PV on Wednesday 22-2, continuing its undefeated streak, winning Bay League, and earning a top position in CIF. “That whole game felt like a dream. The whole thing didn’t seem real. PV didn’t stand a chance,” senior attack Chantel Celotto said.

The girls came out fast, scoring six goals within the first five minutes.

“This game was emotional for us, especially for our seniors,” Celotto said. “We weren’t distracted by the possibility of this maybe being our last game. We came in there confident.”

According to Celotto, they left it all on the field.

“We wanted to use this game to show everyone how focused we are and how serious we are about CIF,”

she said.

The girls’ success is a sharp contrast from previous years, when they didn’t even dream of beating teams like PV or Costa.

“Winning Bay League two years in a row feels awesome because for my first two years here, we were total underdogs,” Celotto said.

By winning League, the girls have secured the top seed for the CIF. “We’re really excited for CIF. We’ve played a solid season and we can go on and challenge ourselves against teams that are at our level, if not better,” Celotto said.

Although many of the games this year have been blowouts, the girls believe they are prepared for CIF. “In every game we’ve worked on keeping possession and executing plays to make sure we don’t get sloppy,” sophomore defense Allyson Barry said.

According to the girls, the team is

runners,” he said.

Last Saturday, the girls 4 by 1600 team broke a California state record at the Mt. Sac relays.

According to sophomore Rachel Bush, the team was 4.03 seconds away from breaking a national record.

“We were so close to a national record it was hard to take, we were actually a little bit disappointed because we were so close,” she said.

According to Bush, although they did not break a national record, they were satisfied with their time.

“We only have mixed feelings about the time because our goal was set higher, but we overall are extremely happy,” she said.

According to Mull, their mixed feelings about time are also due

to the fact that the Mt. Sac relays were one of the last chances for them to break National Record.

“We don’t have an opportunity to break the record because now we need to focus on our individual events to get to State,” she said.

The girls’ distance team is ranked number one in the nation, according to coach Julie Ferron.

“Being ranked number one in the nation is really a testament to the program Bob Leetch has built up. It’s an incredible feat,” she said.

According to Ferron, the team is the most successful it has ever been.

“It’s really great to be ranked number one, because now all of our hard work has payed off,” she said. “I’m very confident that the team will make it to State.”

Baseball loses to West

by David Kawa

PHOTO BY JELLY TRUONG

Junior Ryan Olson spikes the ball in a game against Costa.

“We just need to come out with enthusiasm and be ready to play since it’s our home tournament,” he said.

According to junior Riley Theunissen, if they bring their A game they should succeed in the Redondo Classic.

“We just need to play our game and go as far as we, can hopefully winning it all,” he said.

Girls’ lacrosse still undefeated

by Adam Ammentorp

1. Jennifer Bass competes in a meet against West. The girls’ team is Bay League Champions. 2. Eddie Strnad competes in the West meet., running the mile, 800m, and two mile.

strong beacause there is no one “star player.”

“We always emphasize assists and making each other look good. We’re all there to support each other,” Celotto said.

While last year the girls made it to CIF, they lost in the second round against CATE. “This year we want to go all the way. There’s definitely going to be tough competition, but we are confident in each other,” Barry said.

Celotto agrees, and is confident that there is no one that can beat them.

“I feel like we’re a good enough team to compete with anyone, but we’ve got to realize these games won’t be handed to us,” Celotto said. “We need to change our outlook, increase our intensity and rely on each other.

We’ve come too far to lose.”

Baseball lost to West 14-7 on Wednesday. The team is preparing for another game against West today.

Senior Daniel Marquez feels the team can use the loss as a wake-up call.

“I think [our loss] will fire us up because the last time we won was against Leuzinger so we want to get back in that win column,” Marquez said.

Marquez attributes the loss to a lack of successful hits.

“We couldn’t hit the ball and we didn’t have a strong defense,” he said.

Senior Nick Ridio believes the team could benefit from a more focused and serious approach to the game.

“We lack hitting and focus as a team. We need more heart and passion for the game,” he said.

The team needs to stay consistent and stay wary of simple mistakes according to junior Drew Kozain.

“We really just have to practice making the easy plays and finishing games as strong as we start them,” he said.

The team is prepared to put in work to climb to the top according to Ridio.

“We really want to turn the

Redondo baseball program around.

We are going all out in every game, blood and sweat,” he said.

Kozain feels the team will succeed if it focuses on refining the basic mechanics of the game.

“I believe if we play fundamental baseball we can win,” Kozain said.

The team is also working on improving its strengths of speed and defense.

“Our defense can make plays. If we hit the ball, put it in play, and steal bases, we will come out with a win,” Marquez said.

The team is focused on gaining a slot in the playoffs.

“There is a lot of pressure because we are playing for playoff spots. If we play our game it shouldn’t effect our game at all,” Kozain said.

Marquez stays hopeful for the next game against West.

“We just need to work hard at practice and come in Friday’s game with an intense mentality and confidence,” he said.

The team is hungry for a win.

Ridio, who remembers making playoffs as a freshman, is eager for the team to redeem itself.

“It has been a while since we made playoffs. The Redondo team always made it [to playoffs] back then. We want to go back to how it used to be. We want to be known and feared,” he said.

PHOTO BY DANIEL FALLON

Senior Nick Ridio attempts to get on base in a game against West on Wednesday.

Features Magazine

Growing [Fresh]

Matt and Cara Ulizio, following family tradition, choose to grow their own organic produce.

by Kelsey Chung

In today’s health conscious world, “we need a minimum of five servings of vegetables” is all too frequently heard.

Yet the aisles of “fresh” vegetables at local groceries are often products of mass production and unhealthy pesticides. Junior Matt Ulizio and freshman Cara Ulizio have grown up eating the five servings of vegetables but with a different definition of “fresh”.

w

Because of their father’s hobby of growing veg-

etables, they help grow and even eat the vegetables grown in their own plot of farm land in Torrance and in their backyard. Matt and Cara Ulizio prefer their family’s home grown vegetables over the mass produced store vegetables because of the quality. [continued on B8]

the

Anchor

April 30, 2010

[High Tide]

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April 30, 2010

The Anchorn Entertainment

It’s a light and tumble journey...

to the [Santa Ana] Zoo

by Josh Fogelson

Lions and tigers and bears.... and monkeys?

The Santa Ana Zoo at Prentice Park is a little known zoo home to over 50 monkeys. Located about 45 minutes from Redondo Beach, this zoo is a hidden gem in Southern California.

When Joseph Prentice founded the zoo in 1952, he made a request for the zoo to always have at least 50 monkeys, a request the zoo has faithfully followed since its opening. For this reason, you can see a whole menagerie of primates in a rather small zoo.

In addition to the monkeys, the zoo also has an aviary, a farm, a petting zoo, elephant rides, and a new exhibit modeling the South American habitat of the pampas.

While there may be a whole menagerie of animals to see, the real attraction of this zoo is its primate collection, including lemurs, monkeys, tamarins, capuchins, and apes. The collection ranges from six foot high squirrel monkeys to the large white-handed gibbon.

It is a fairly small zoo, only 20 acres, yet the variety of monkeys makes the Santa Ana Zoo unique.

The Tierre De Las Pampas is a new exhibit that just opened two weeks ago. It replicates the South American habitat of the pampas, showcasing rheas, anteaters, and guanacos, a relative to the llama. The new exhibit is a nice addition, but is nothing special.

The Santa Ana Zoo is a interesting place to go on a lazy Sunday afternoon, but it is not worth the 45-minute drive out there. Its small size makes the zoo seem unimpressive

and a little bit of a let down, especially when compared to the Los Angeles Zoo. It takes about two hours to see every single animal there.

That being said, the Santa Ana Zoo is still a nice place to go if you are an animal enthusiast, interested in checking out a zoo other than the Los Angeles Zoo, or just really love monkeys. If you do not fit any of the above criteria, you’re better off spending your time and money at the Los Angeles Zoo, where a larger selection of animals will keep you more entertained and happy

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The Cottontop Tamarin (left) and Scarlet Ibis (right) are just two of the many animals presented by the Santa Ana Zoo.

you came all that way.

To sum it up, the Santa Ana Zoo at Prentice Park is a great place to go if you are a zoo enthusiast, but otherwise the 45-minute drive out to this rather small zoo is not worth it.

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The Anchorn Entertainment

April 30, 2010

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B3

Talent show sucessfully entertains

by Alex Curtis

What came to mind while watching the talent show was “Haven’t I seen this before?”

The two reasons why everything seemed the same were that one act was repeated twice, many of the participants were in multiple acts, and the majority of the acts were the same as in Drama’s recent Love: A Cabaret.

The tryouts were around the same time, and it must have seemed convenient to use the same song for both. The two shows should have been spaced apart to avoid nearly identical shows.

With at least half the same acts, there was really no point in a separate show; they may as well have brought the Cabaret back for another night or forced those who got into both with the same song to change one. On top of that, one of the acts was repeated.

The reprise of “Agony” was done eight songs after the original, just long enough for everyone to have forgotten every word but retain the tune. The audience seemed to think it was the exact same song twice.

Even though many of the songs focused on love, probably since they were also used in the Cabaret, there was a variety from show tunes to pop to rap.

The variety was a pleasant surprise. Everyone was talented in more ways than one; many of them played instruments while singing or gave a comedic performance (agony included).

My personal favorite was the third act: Eric Beck playing a mix of video game songs

on the piano. It was certainly the furthest thing from what the audience expected to hear when he sat down to the piano.

It was also interesting that the chorus and drama teachers were included in the talent show. They served as a sort of intermission between the students. The chorus and drama teachers, Jessica Schlenz and Justin Baldridge, sang “The Rainbow Connection” from The Muppet Movie.

The opening act, Vanessa Alarcon singing and playing “How Come You Don’t Call Me?” on the piano, immediately engaged the audience. Alarcon invited the audience to keep time for her, and the audience was more than happy to. Her request carried through the rest of the show, and the audience clapped time for any song they really liked.

Even though his music track already included a clapped beat, Andre Holmes had the audience’s help throughout his whole song. He was the only person in the talent show this year who rapped, and he proved it had just as much soul as any other type of song.

The technicians were nearly as flawless as Holmes’ beat, something that says a lot about our school’s stagecraft program. The problems were minor, barely noticeable, and lasted a maybe a second tops. The microphones failed at the start of the first few songs, but by Baldridge and Schlenz’s performance, they were working perfectly.

It’s not often that the tech is a noticeable enhancement to a show. Usually, technicians do their job and achieve success if they are completely unnoticed, but in this

1.

1. Andre Holmes rapping on stage 2.William Beale and Kieran Newton sang the duet “Agony” from Into the Woods 3. Mercedes Hernandez and Diane Ambrose singing “I’m yours” 4. Kearra Murray strikes a pose while dancing

2.

3.

ALL PHOTOS BY JONATHAN MARTIN

they were truly performers themselves. A job well done.

It’s incredible how talented adolescents can be, both on stage and behind it. It expected that the talent show would be like one out of a movie: wooden stage in front of the cafeteria, girls that only think they can sing and monochrome lighting.

4.

Preparing for Prom by pinching pennies

by Shayna Stuart

With the prom location and theme announced, it’s time for the prom madness to begin. Which dress? How should I do my hair and makeup? These questions are important and hard for just one brain to handle. But, with this trusty guideline, prom preparations can be simple, stressfree, and affordable.

The number one thing to keep in mind throughout your prom experience is budget management. On average, the complete prom experience can cost up to $1,000, not including a designer dress. So, plan ahead and make a budget to curb any excessive spending.

Cost versus logic. It might seem pretty simple but you’ll be surprised how overwhelmed a girl can be when they find that perfect BCBG dress. The cost seems to vanish at the moment, but when reality sets, sudden regret takes over. The second thing is how much money you are willing

ABOUT.COM:SHOES

Shoes are a major expense when prom shopping

to spend on a dress that you’ll probably only wear once. If your answer to this is not very much, check out Forever 21, Macy’s, Nordstrom’s, and Windsor. If you don’t have the patience to look through crowded department stores, check out boutique stores in Riviera Village such as Ribbons, Aleandrea, and Inge. Their prices could be cheaper, and

there are more likely to be sales. For a more unique dress, check out the Beverly Hills Shopping Center and South Coast Plaza for designer stores. Go sooner rather than later to hit up their sales racks! To stay on task and keep within the budget, spend at maximum $300-350 on a dress.

Once the perfect dress has been chosen, it’s time to pick out your foot attire. Let’s keep in mind that dancing occurs at prom, so try to aim for a classic two to three inch heel that is comfortable to move in. And even though accessories are important, it is more cost efficient to show off the “simplicity” of a dress.

Next stop on the budget to prom, “the pampering section”; nails; makeup; and hair.

Aim to spend less than $200 on pampering by coming up with self-sufficient and fun ways to beautify, such as having a mini spa day at your house with a couple of friends.

For make-up ideas, browse through the cosmetic section of your local department store. Often times, if you buy a product

they will give you a free makeover, which is money friendly because you get a makeover and the product for future use. However, make sure to make an appointment with the big name brands such as MAC, Bare Essentials, and Clinique, as they tend to get overcrowded during prom season.

You’re all ready to go, but wait who has the tickets? In the era of chivalry, the men would buy their prom date’s ticket, but with the current economic situation, this might prove difficult. If you are going with someone, make sure to talk about the ticket situation and be honest. There are many ways to fundraise or save enough money between the two of you without having to fly solo.

And make sure to buy the tickets the first week they go on sale because the longer you wait, the more expensive they get.

Lastly, none of this is worth it if you don’t enjoy yourself. Make sure to bring a camera to document those “Kodak” moments and of course for next day Facebook lurking.

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The Anchor

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B5

In-Depth

MUSIC

Sanchez seeks to pursue career in singing

EXPRESSING YOURSELF

THROUGH

by Vanessa Alarcon

Holding her guitar, she walks out in front of the crowd and prepares to perform. She feels the adrenaline rush and as she begins to sing, she starts to feel like a real musician.

“On stage I open up,” sophomore Chelsey Sanchez said.

Sanchez has performed many times at Disneyland, the LA county fair, the Orange County fair, and 3rd street Promenade.

She has also performed at Angels stadium for the Buddy Walk, a charity event to raise money and awareness about down syndrome.

Currently, Sanchez is filming for a show, “The Heart of Western Music,” and performing in many different places.

Sanchez goes to open mic nights to perform. She performs at such places as the Unurban Café in Santa Monica, and Point 705 in Hermosa Beach.

“I feel free, there are no boundaries. I become a new person, [a] different, funloving, and daring musician” Sanchez said.

Sanchez also writes her own music. She has written 25 songs that are a combination of blues, jazz, pop, country and rock. “[Inspiration] comes from everywhere.

I’m always looking for something I can write a song about,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez said that when she has an idea for a song, she writes it anywhere, from her hand, to a napkin.

She says that she likes to connect with her audience on a deeper, more emotional level.

Whether it be composing music, singing, or rapping, students find that music is their artistic outlet.

Lober composes music for video games

by Brittney Madera

All it takes is one note to inspire a melody, which grows into a song.

Music serves to tell or intensify a story even if it is background music, as seen in movies and video games.

Sophomore Phillip Lober has been composing his own original pieces for the past three years, creating pieces for both fan-made video games and his own personal enjoyment.

Instead of practicing the music for his piano lessons, Lober spent his time making up and writing pieces on his own.

He composes for video games created on game-making forum websites not as a professional job, but as good practice for the future.

Lober has written for fan-created games such as Destiny War I and II and is currently composing for his friend’s game Ultimage.

He also posts up his pieces online to receive feedback on what he can do to improve.

“The more feedback you get, the more sources you have to learn from,” Lober said. “The positive feedback I get for my pieces drives me to do more, and composing lets me be known for something that I like to do.”

According to Lober, his music is a mix of orchestral aspects occasionally mixed with rock styling.

“Whenever I was in a school band playing a song, I would often have different renditions and versions of that song run-

ning through my head all the time. Once I get a melody in my head, I just have to complete [the piece],” he said.

According to Lober, some of his shorter pieces take four to six hours to compose while the four-minute piece he recently finished took sixteen hours.

Lober looks up to a few film composers, including his favorite John Powell, who has worked on the Bourne trilogy, Shrek, and most recently How to Train Your Dragon.

According to Lober, the two share a fondness for adding a Scottish-sounding nature to their compositions.

“Well, to me, it isn’t a matter of the composer as it is the music. Most people will judge music on who made it, but I just listen to the music for what it is,”

1.

COURTESY OF PHILLIP LOBER

2.

COURTESY OF PHILLIP LOBER

1. Sophomore Phillip Lober composes original pieces of music on his piano for video games. He has composed music for over three years. 2. Lober’s original piece, “Belonging,” took him many weeks to compose.

Lober said.

Lober aspires to attend the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in order to be a film composer. He also plans on com-

posing an entire film score by the end of the year.

“The goal is to keep adding to my resume, one gig at a time,” he said.

Holmes produces music for others along with making his own album

by Steven King

Junior Andre Holmes started to play the piano at three years of age when his father taught him “Lean on me.”

Since then, Holmes has advanced his musical career and is working to make a name for himself as a rapper.

“I didn’t really get into music all that much until I was in the eighth grade.

That’s when I started the Street Boys,” Holmes said.

Holmes worked as a part of the Street Boys, an up-and-coming band, while he lived in Houston, Texas.

Holmes performed at local venues and recorded all of the group’s sessions with a

tape recorder.

After moving out to California, Holmes cut a fifty-fifty deal with a producer that liked one of Holmes singles “I’m Young.”

Now, Holmes writes songs for television shows and other recording artists.

“Getting signed was definitely a step up from producing with a tape recorder,” Holmes said. “Now I just need to put myself out there as a rapper so that I can become famous one day.”

Currently, Holmes works and records his own music in a studio, which he shares with his father.

“It took small steps for me to learn all of the buttons and knobs in my studio. I

had to learn by observation, even then it took a long time,” Holmes said.

Although Holmes manages to complete roughly twenty songs every month, he does not keep them if he doesn’t feel a special connection.

“If I write a song and I feel that I can relate to it, I’ll keep it but if I feel someone else can perform it better, I gladly give it to them,” Holmes said.

Holmes plans to release his debut album by the beginning of the summer so he has time to properly market himself.

He has aspirations to become a rapper.

“The album is most likely going to be titled Reborn because I have been through

enough to know that I have changed since the first time I came out to California.”

Holmes understands the tough competition facing recording artists trying to break into mainstream and he wants to prepare himself accordingly.

“As a rapper you have to come out with the newest hooks and beats,” Holmes said. “No matter what you rap about, be it girls or cars, you have to be a master at your craft.”

Holmes has never sampled from any other artists, instead focusing on elements that will make him more unique.

“When I look at other artists I try to understand how they got to where they are, or how they came up with a certain

lyric,” Holmes said. “Instead of trying to be like somebody else, I try to stand out.”

Holmes often receives inspiration for new music at random times throughout the day.

“With music, often times I will wake up, or somebody will say something to me, and out of nowhere, I come up with a full song. I don’t know how or why it happens, I can’t explain it,” he said.

Holmes understands the extent to which music has impacted his life and plans to make it a life long career.

“Simply put, I like music because it is a beautiful medium that I can use to get my message across,” Holmes said.

“I want the audience to become connected because then they are drawn in by the music, lyrics and voice. They can experience the whole emotional mood,” Chelsey said.

Though Sanchez has already made her own songs, she is taking guitar lessons.

She says that reading notes is still difficult for her.

“Over time I will master it. I have faith.”

Sanchez’s inspiration to become a singer and performer is Elvis.

“I’m a huge Elvis fanatic,” she said.

Sanchez wants to pursue music as a career, and be a performer.

“I would love to wake up every morning and sing,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez finds the opportunities to perform by looking online, and networking.

Her friends and grandparents also find places for her to perform at.

“It’s fun, lovable work” she said.

Sanchez also won $1000 in a singing competition. She saved the earnings in an account for a future car or down payment on a house.

The first time that Sanchez performed was in a second grade talent show. She said that she was not nervous at all, but it was just fun.

Later, she attended Orange County High School of the Arts before coming to Redondo.

Sanchez is also currently searching for a bass player to help her and start a band in order to get exposure and play gigs.

Sanchez has a Youtube channel, ChelseySanchez, and is working to be a famous performer.

“I would be so excited to share my music internationally. I want to change music.

I want to take it back to the timeless classics,” she said.

1.

COURTESY OF CHELSEY SANCHEZ

1. Sophomore Chelsey Sanchez poses with her guitar. She is an aspiring singer.

2. Sanchez performs at the student talent show.

2.

PHOTO BY JONATHAN MARTIN

B6

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April 30, 2010

The Anchor

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Entertainment

Kick-ass holds up to its title, entertains viewers

by Casey Smith

WWW.KICKASS-THEMOVIE.COM

With Kick-Ass, the title says it all. Crime fighting, love story, tears, laughter–this film has everything and more.

Kick-Ass was beautifully directed. From one scene to the next, you never knew what to expect and that’s what made it so amazing.

It was surprising to see the level of violence and to hear the crude sense of humor, but it worked well with the plot and characters.

Aaron Johnson, who plays David Lizewski, a.k.a. Kick-Ass, is your average male high school student who wants to make something more of himself. Johnson brings a new lovable crime fighting superhero to the screen that many can relate to.

Johnson seems to reinvent the genre of heroes. He has played other roles, such as Robbie in Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, but Kick-Ass may be the movie that puts him on the map for even better roles.

Kick-Ass’s ideas of becoming a vigilante cause trouble for not only himself, but the drug lords in the heart of the city, as well as existing superheroes.

Nicolas Cage, who may be the most established actor in the film, plays Big Daddy who runs alongside his daughter and partner-in-crime Hit-

Girl (Chloe Moretz).

Cage does an excellent job at portraying a caring father who only wants the best for his daughter.

Although this may be the case, he creates a vicious vigilante who kills murderous drug dealers to protect the innocent people of the city.

Moretz plays a phenomenal role. With her misleading sweet face, at times you may forget that she is a killer.

Her dialogue is hilarious and not something you would expect to come from a mouth of a little girl. She’s crude and brutal and yet knows how to act semi normal when out in public with her true identity.

Along with Kick-Ass, some may argue that Hit-Girl herself could be the main hero.

Kick-Ass also inspires many other superheroes, one of them being the Red Mist, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

Red Mists true identity, Chris D’Amico is the richest boy in town and who is often ignored by his father, the drug lord.

D’Amico wants to be part of the family business and therefore comes up with the idea of Red Mist.

Although Mintz-Plasse played his character well in Kick-Ass, it is incomparable to his geeky role of McLovin in Superbad.

Kick-Ass is a wonderful balance between love and heart-pounding scenes that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

I recommend it to all in high school, but definitely no one under the age of fourteen, for the hilarious comedy does have its vulgar side.

Letters to Juliet a succesful romantic comedy

by Alex Curtis

Gary Winick, who recently directed Charlotte’s Web and an episode of Ugly Betty, also directed Letters to Juliet. The romantic comedy gets away with it’s cheesy moments by pointing out just how unrealistic and predictable they are, via a sarcastic character that doesn’t believe in love.

Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer’s Body), an aspiring writer, travels to Verona with her fiance Victor (Gael Bernal, Blindness) for a “pre-honeymoon” and somehow feels further and further away from him on the trip. Fed up, she goes sight seeing on her own and runs across the house of Shakespeare’s famous character Juliet. There are women crying in every language.

She follows a woman pulling letters off the wall and meets the Secretaries of Juliet, and joins them by responding to a letter written in 1951.

Claire Wyman (Vanessa Redgrave), who wrote the letter, and her son Charlie (Chris

Egan), the sarcastic nonbeliever, travel from Britain to Verona and travel with Sophie to find Claire’s long lost love, Lorenzo Bartolini (Franco Nero). Unfortunately, there are about 40 Lorenzo Bartolinis just in the area.

An interesting observation that may or not be coincidence is that most of the actors and actresses in the movie have played a character of the same name in a movie within the past five years.

For example, Seyfried played Sophie in Mama-Mia! and Franco Nero played a Lorenzo in Summer Solstice. Either the writer was very clever, or all the characters have overly used names. It’s safe to assume the former.

It was evident from the opening sequence what this movie was going to be; the opening credits featured various pictures of “romance”, including some fish that look like they are kissing and an anime couple, set to a slow song about love, thankfully not one of the same two you always seem to hear.

It is very much your typical love story, but dialogue and character make that sort of movie work. Many of the lines get funnier as they’re repeated and become a character’s catch phrase. For example, Victor says “win-win” whenever he suggests anything to Sophie, which is a ridiculous concept on a honeymoon.

Letters to Juliet follows the traditional romantic comedy format: boy meets girl, girl and boy hate each other, things start to look hopeful for boy and girl, all hope is loss, girl and boy separate, girl and boy get back together, happily ever after.

It’s generic. It’s cliché. We love it and would like to believe these sorts of things really do happen as easily as they seem to in movies.

Although the plots are rather different, the movie is very similar to 50 First Dates. There is that same humor that carries through every line, not ever letting up for more than a minute. The audience laughs from beginning to end.

Death at a Funeral remake holds true to original

by Madeline Perrault

Death at a Funeral, as the title implies, tells the story of a funeral gone horribly wrong.

There are the normal problems like jealousy between brothers and trouble with the mother-in-law, and then there are some not so normal problems like a boyfriend on a drug trip and a mysterious dwarf.

Apart from the British cast being remade to a mostly African-American cast, the original movie and the remake are remarkably similar. In general though, the major ethnicity change does not have a large effect on the movie.

A few jokes and plot twists deviated from the original, but the same scripter, Dean Craig, helped keep the movies closely related. Although the remake is better than the original due to key changes, it is still not a good movie, by any standards.

Unfortunately, there was a lot of repetition throughout the movie. Certain scenario are used multiple times and after the third or fourth time seeing them, they lose their appeal.

The movie does cause a couple laughs, but the majority of the humorous parts are in the promotional commercials, which make the movie rather predictable.

In the remake, Chris Rock plays Aaron Barnes, an aspiring writer living in the shadow of his older brother Ryan (Martin Lawrence), a famous novelist. Aaron is roped into having his father’s funeral at the house where he lives with his mother and his wife.

His cousin Elaine (Zoe Saldana) shows up with her boyfriend (James Marsden) who loses control of himself and runs around causing major problems. A family friend (Tracy Morgan) has to bring grumpy, old Uncle Russell (Danny Glover), and his friend Derek (Luke Wilson) who does not even know the deceased, he just wants to win Elaine’s love.

Then, to add more drama, a 4 foot tall man (Peter Dinklage) is walking around who no one seems to know.

There are numerous plots intertwined, and multiple dilemmas all happening at the same time. A couple scenes were altered from the original and made either cruder or grosser for no apparent reason.

The entire movie felt like it was trying way too hard to get a joke out of something that was not funny, and that is why they had to resort to extreme situations.

In the end, the original is only three years old, and because the movies are so similar it makes this a very pointless remake.

The Anchor

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Entertainment

April 30, 2010

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// Lightning Reviews // One

The Losers

The Losers, directed by Sylvain White, is an action movie based on a comic series from Vertigo and DC Comics. Five members of a United States Special Force team are stranded in Bolivia while going after a drug dealer.

Their leader, Clay (Jeffrey Morgan), meets the amazingly gorgeous Aisha (Zoe Saldana), who helps to relocate them to America so they can get revenge.

The film is very straight-forward and, to be honest, a bit short. It is only an hour and a half, compared to other movies of its genre that have been known to go on for up to three hours.

Nevertheless, a lot happens in those 90 minutes. The plot is full

WWW.THE-LOSERS.COM

Two

B7

of twists and turns; you’re never sure who’s on whose side.

The dialogue is funny and witty. Many of the lines exist completely out of the blue, but they completely fit with their corresponding characters.

The casting is wonderful; each actor plays their character well, especially Jason Patric, who plays the archvillain Max. The opening and closing credits are amazing and fun to watch.

The only thing that should be changed is that the film should be made longer, perhaps by extending that opening sequence.

–– Alex Curtis

Three

Four

Circa Survive: Blue Sky Noise

Dreamworks finally gets it. Despite its reputation as a more mediocre Pixar, the studio’s newest release, How To Train Your Dragon, proves that Pixar can move beyond forgettable children’s movies and instead create a solid piece of animation.

The film tells the story of Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), who befriends and nurses an injured dragon back to health, changing the relationship between formerly savage townsfolk and mythical creatures forever.

While the plot screams “cliche,” How To Train Your Dragon tells a surprisingly compelling story of friendship and man’s understanding of the environment.

Where Dreamwork’s other movies relied heavily on low humor and tired pop-culture references (remember Bee Movie?), this one focuses on the relationships between characters, creating a genuinely funny and entertaining movie for both young kids and adults alike.

Paired with a plot that, while done before, remains strong and focused, as well as some decent animation, How To Train Your Dragon is the first good animated feature of 2010.

While it may not put Dreamworks on the same plane as animation juggernaut Pixar, the film showcases the studio’s potential in making truly good movies.

–– Claire Simon

Many people were worried that Circa Survive’s third album, Blue Sky Noise, would not succeed as its previous two albums have.

Fortunately, Circa Survive has once again come out with a remarkable album, surpassing all expectations.

This time around, the band has managed to take their usual sound, charged and almost mystic, and produce a new less dark sound compared to their older work.

Songs such as “Get Out” and “Glass Arrows” off the album showcase this perfectly. Other songs on the album such as “Frozen Creek” have a slower sound to them but still manage to carry a great sonic and emotional power with them.

Overall, Blue Sky Noise, far from being a letdown, is rather a testament to Circa Survive’s mastery as musicians.

It is without a doubt their best work yet. So much for the trend.

–– Ulises Gonzalez

WWW.HOWTOTRAINYOURDRAGON.COM

How to Train Your Dragon

Five

WWW.THE-LOSERS.COM

The Backup Plan

The Back-Up Plan is a disappointing, ultra-clichéd romantic comedy.

It follows the story of Zoe’s (Jennifer Lopez) desperate need for a baby and her unsuccessful search for Mr. Right.

After being artificially inseminated by an anonymous sperm donor, she meets and falls in love with Stan (Alex O’Loughlin). After revealing to him that she is pregnant, trouble ensues.

An irrelevant cast and an easily foreseeable plot makes this a very corny, unimaginative movie.

The script seems forced and ingenuine, with a failed delivery of the comedic lines. This movie is a waste of time and a stereotyped, Razzie-worthy movie.

–– Daniel Garza

Justin Nozuka: You I Wind Land and Sea

After debuting his most popular single “After Tonight” in 2007, Justin Nozuka has released his second album You I Wind Land and Sea. This album consists of songs with mature themes and deep meanings dealing with love and abuse.

Although classified as pop, Nozuka’s calming voice and acoustic instruments closely resemble soul. The first song, “Gray,” is a rather somber song with a slow, steady beat.

This song is very repetitive and can get boring after listening to it many times. This is the same with “Hollow Men.” On the other hand, some good songs are the mellow sounding “Love” and “My Heart is Yours.” Nozuka uses metaphors to talk about his love for a woman. These songs are calming, and are perfect to listen to in the car or while doing homework.

“Woman Put Your Weapon Down,” is an intense song with a deep meaning behind the lyrics. The tempo is faster than the other songs, thus creating an angry mood. However, Nozuka’s voice sounds very controlled in the song.

Overall, fans of Justin Nozuka will be pleased with You I Wind Land and Sea for its similar sound to his first album, Holly.

–– Bethany Kawa

WWW.JUSTINNOZUKA.COM

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[APRIL 30, 2010]

THE ANCHOR [ENTERTAINMENT]

Students eat organic to help body and environment

by Annica Stitch

Sophomore Andrew Hazeltine and his family realize they are out of groceries; they get in the car, drive past Albertson’s, Ralph’s and Vons and cruise to the farmer’s market by the beach. According to Hazeltine, his parents have been buying solely organic foods to stock their pantries since he was born because his parents didn’t want the pesticides in non organic foods.

He and his family do, however, still consume some “processed” foods.

“I still eat some processed foods but I limit myself...most of the restaurants we go to have healthier foods than like fast food and other chain restaurants,” Hazeltine said.

Hazeltine says that eating organic foods makes him feel healthier.

“I’m not fat and I don’t have any health problems and I have never had one. I think it helps in athletics, too,” Hazeltine said.

Hazeltine plans to still eat some organic foods when he moves out, but thinks it may be too expensive for him to keep eating only organic foods like his parents do.

“I don’t really care about eating all organic foods. I just eat what my parents tell me to,” Hazeltine said.

Unlike Hazeltine, senior Joleen McClellan made the choice to eat organic foods without the influence of her parents.

“I started researching the facts about non-organic foods and was disgusted by the chemicals that are added to non organic foods. I decided to become an organic vegetarian in order to promote environmental stability and live a healthier lifestyle,” McClellan said.

When she first started to eat only organic vegetarian foods, McClellan noticed weight loss and an increase in her overall energy and a change in the way food tastes to her.

“By eating organic items I have realized how fantastic foods truly taste. There is a significant difference in the taste between chemically altered food and completely natural food items. Tomatoes, the true taste of them, are fantastic for instance, without all of the additives and chemicals,” McClellan said.

Not only does McClellan enjoy the taste of organic foods, but she also enjoys the positive impact on the environment that her lifestyle change supports.

“By eating organic vegetarian food you send a message that you do not approve harming innocent animals and that you care about the environment. By simply eating organic the amount of chemicals that are distributed into the environment significantly decreases, which helps the environment. Although it is difficult at times to be an organic vegetarian, especially during the first few weeks, any change helps you,” McClellan said.

Why [Fresh]?

the benefits of organic food for your body and the environment

Organic foods lack the preservatives and artificial products used to prolong the shelf life of typical produce Farmers who grow organic produce don’t use synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, conserving water and soil and helping the environment (USDA) However, to compensate for these, organic products typically cost more than their non-organic counterparts ––compiled by Annica Stitch

Finding [Fresh]

where to find stores and markets that offer organic produce and meats

THE ORIGINAL FARMER’S MARKET

Since 1934, farmers and city-goers have gathered in this now-famous square to buy and sell fresh, organic goods.

WHERE The corner of Fairfax and 3rd Street, West Hollywood, CA

BRISTOL FARMS

Another supermarket chain that provides high-end, organic food and produce. The Redondo Beach location also has a restaurant inside.

WHERE 1700-A S Pacific Coast Hwy

FRESHIA MARKET

This market provides healthy, inexpensive food with a Korean twist. Beware: most vendors primarily speak Korean.

WHERE 2515 Torrance Blvd, Torrance, CA

TORRANCE FARMER’S MARKET

A local farmer’s market open only on Tuesdays and Saturdays, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

WHERE 2200 Crenshaw Blvd. (between Sepulveda Blvd. and Carson St.), Torrance, CA

TRADER JOE’S

A national chain of grocery stores devoted to providing organic choices WHERE Redondo Beach: 1761 S. Elena Avenue, in Riviera Plaza Torrance: -19720 Hawthorne Blvd.

-2545 Pacific Coast Highway, in Rolling Hills Plaza

WHOLE FOODS

An international chain of supermarkets that sells organic vegetables and meats WHERE Redondo Beach: 405 North Pacific Coast Hwy, across the street from the library.

Torrance: 2655 Pacific Coast Hwy

SPROUTS

A growing market that exclusively sells a large selection of organic fruits and vegetables WHERE 4230 Pacific Coast Highway, on the corner of Anza Bvld., Torrance CA

––compiled by Joanie Schneider, Olivia Loveland and Dylan Futrell

Ulizio siblings grow their own produce at home [continued from front]

“Like for tomatoes, you can taste the home grown versus the store produced. The home grown is fresher because it hasn’t been sitting in a store or in some refrigerated truck,” Matt said.

They grow their vegetables on a plot of community garden owned by Torrance. They’ve grown everything from squash, tomato, lettuce, onions, lima beans, cucumbers, onions, leeks, and even pumpkins. And although the family had to scale down the size of the plot because of a lack of time, they try to help their dad whenever possible. Matt hopes everyone will try gardening.

According to Cara, mass produced vegetables are picked when they are green and ripened with chemicals. But besides the taste of home grown vegetables, growing their vegetables is environmentally friendly.

“It’s green because it reduces packaging. We also help because we don’t have to go out to the store where they are shipped in from other countries or areas. And we can also make our own compost out of things like orange or banana peels,” Cara said.

Although growing vegetables is “time consuming and hard work,” the family gardens because they enjoy gardening as a family. When Matt and Cara have free time from the busy lives, they try to help their dad as much as possible.

“If I cant make it [to Torrance], I watch over the plants we have in our backyard. I enjoy helping my dad because its another way for us to do something together. It’s a common interest,” Cara said.

Matt believes that growing vegetables has helped to eat healthier because the vegetables are more accessible.

“Our family isn’t super health-oriented but we eat a lot of vegetables because we grow it. It’s also a lot cheaper than buying a lot of vegetables,” Matt said.

Likewise, because they always have fresh vegetables at their house, Cara feels they enjoy eating healthier.

“I’ve always loved vegetables because we’ve grown up with it, except for brussels sprouts,” Cara said.

The siblings’ dad grew up with a half acre of land where his family grew their own vegetables and grew a love gardening. Cara hopes to pass on her skills of gardening to her kids just like how her grandpa and dad passed the skills onto her and Matt. Matt also enjoys gardening because it is a unique hobby.

“It’s cool to say that I grew this. You feel pride. And it’s something we do as a family. If we hadn’t done this, I would have had no exposure to its uniqueness,” Matt said.

For Matt and Cara, growing their own vegetables is an “incentive” and gives them “pride.”

Cara also feels that there are other benefits besides the accessibility to fresh organic vegetables. “[Even though] not too many of my friends know about it, most of them like it. Its always nice to give other people like family or friends some of the things we’ve grown,” Cara said. “Gardening is something everyone can do. You can easily grow a tomato plant in a pot to have on your salad or sandwich”