High Tide: April 6, 2012 Edition

HIGH

TIDE Redondo Beach, CA // Redondo Union High School April 6, 2012 // Vol. XCII // Edition 12

hightideonline.org

CHANGING

TIDES The Redondo Beach “Whaling Wall” has made the AES Power plant a part of the community since 1991. New decisions to remodel the plant to comply with environmental regulationshas, however, thretened the life of this iconic mural. [see more on pgs. 12-13]

p10-11 //

Marcus Chong blends American customs with traditional Chinese’s.

p16-17 //

Students share the prominences of their family bussinesses.

p22-23 //

PHOTO BY MAX PITTMAN

Girls track pull out a win agains Penninsula.

2

NEWS // APRIL 6, 2012

The

week in

WASC committee visits RUHS for a required progress check

photos.

by Jason Rochlin

Choir.

PHOTO BY ALEXIS BRACKEN

Sing Your Heart Out. Advanced choir sings a medley of music from Lord of the Rings at last Tuesday’s Jazz Band and Vocal Music Festival. According to senior Tiffany Truong, the festival was one of the final performances that choir will do this year. “I have been on choir for the majority of my high school career, so our final performances are definitely bittersweet,” Truong said. “I’m really excited for our upcoming spring concert, which will be our last.”

Prom Expo.

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) committee revisited RUHS last Tuesday to check in on the progress that the school has made on its goals over the past three years.

WASC, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, is a group that visits schools every three years to ensure that it is still on task to accomplish its goals and help the students.

“Accreditation is a process that the school goes through to ensure that the curriculum, the level of rigor, and the course content is the material that should be taught to students,” said Principal Nicole Wesley.

WASC fosters excellence in elementary through college education, and believes that the goal of any school should be to provide successful student learning.

“WASC is sort of like an entity that checks up on us and makes sure were doing what we need to do. We had to look at our data and upgrade our demographic information, and create essentially a five chapter document that the accreditation came to look at and validate to be true,” said Wesley.

English teacher and board member Leila Williams is one of the teachers that

compiles all the information and charts from the other teachers to use in the schools 74-page document, providing progress for WASC. “When students have an early dismissal day, called collaboration day, teachers meet in departments and look at our data, look at our goals, and write summaries of how we’ve met them thus far.

They turn those summaries into Kim Akhavan and Leila Williams, and they put them together into this report,” says Wesley.

If WASC gives the school a good grade, then the school will receive credit, and student transcripts will have value for colleges.

“I do believe there’s value to the community because if the school gets a high accreditation, then it’s a good school, and many people want to live by good schools, which means the home values go up, so the people who live in Redondo Beach will have higher home values,” says Wesley.

When they visited, the WASC visiting committee had private meetings with teachers, staff, and teachers.

“We are doing well, and we are a strong school, and we have no problems not getting an accreditation,” Wesley said.

AP Chinese language, principles of engineering to be offered next year PHOTO VITORIA MAGNO

Hollywoodland. Seniors Spencer Peak and Joyous Ohiomoba accept their nomination for prom court. “Presidents Anjali Read and Kayla Steele and supervisor Mrs.Taylor did a wonderful job with the prom expo,” Ohiomoba said. The theme for prom this year is Hollywoodland where students can dress in vintage 1920’s fashion. “I felt beautiful up there on the stage,” Ohiomoba said. Prom will take place in June at the Cooper Building in Downtown L.A.

Egg Hunt.

PHOTO BY ANDREW HAZELTINE

Egg Endeavors. Senior Megan Forseth searches for eggs at the annual Easter egg hunt held by ASB on Tuesday. The eggs contained extra credit from teachers, along with candy and other goodies. According to senior Vivian Nguyen, the Easter egg hunt allowed her to get extra credit and bathroom passes for class while having fun at the same time.

by Matt Brancolini

As the educational world changes, students demand more diverse and rigorous classes.

To meet this demand, Redondo will offer AP Chinese Language and Culture, Expository Reading and Writing, Principles of Biomedical Sciences, Principles of Engineering, and Digital Electronics starting next school year.

After being added to the school curriculum three years ago, Chinese’s popularity leads Assistant Principal Adam Genovese to believe that there is enough interest in the language to support an AP Chinese class.

“We want to offer classes students will want to take. Based on the number on students in Chinese 3, we believe that there are enough students interested in AP Chinese,” Genovese said. “It always helps to have more languages on campus and Chinese is the most popular language in the world. I would encourage students to take it.”

Genovese believes that Expository Reading and Writing offers a rigorous middle ground between AP and CP English classes

and will aptly prepare students for college English courses.

“Expository Reading and Writing is a more difficult alternative to English 11 or English 12. It definitely requires strong reading and writing skills,” Genovese said.

“Almost every job involves being able to read and write well and this course gets kids to that next level.”

Principles of Biomedical Sciences, Principles of Engineering, and Digital Electronics offer math and science oriented students more opportunities, according to Genovese.

“All of the courses are UC approved electives and are designed for students who are taking more of the math and science route in life,” Genovese said. “Advanced sciences are taking over the world and students want access to these kinds of classes.”

These added classes are meant to enrich and diversify the learning experiences of Redondo’s students, according to Genovese.

“We try to feel out the needs of the students and offer courses that will prepare them for success in the outside world,” Genovese said.

NEWS // APRIL 6, 2012

3

CSU campuses to see harsh effects from budget constraints

by Andrew Czuzak

Governor Jerry Brown warned Californians about the consequences of stopping his new tax plan. With 15 schools not admitting new students, 25 thousand students who will have to wait another semester for college, a six percent tuition hike, and $470 million removed from California’s CSU budget, the first tangible effects of the failed tax plan have arrived (CBS LA).

“Ultimately, I hope this is just a delay... a bump in the road... and [California] can figure out its problems financially,” counselor Tiffany Straight said.

In addition to her faith in finding a

solution to California’s education system, Straight also believes that the termination of spring enrollment in Cal State campuses will mainly affect students in community college as opposed to graduating seniors.

“I really hope students do not give up because of this delay. The alternative to going to school is dropping out and I do not think anybody should have to do that,” Straight said.

Furthermore, according to Straight, the CSU educational system is creating a snowball effect. She believes that the less students that go to college, the less money the colleges will make and consequentially, more budget cuts will occur. Karen Morris, career counselor, agrees saying that part of

the problem lies within the CSU administration.

“If fees and tuition are raised in CSU’s then the administration’s pay cannot keep going up,” Morris said.

According to the Associated Press, two CSU presidents took 10% pay hikes just days before the new tax plan was rejected.

“It is appalling that they got raises when they’re raising prices for students at the same time,” Morris said.

Straight believes part of the current budget crisis in California can be attributed to students who are not college ready.

When they enter college, they must take remedial classes that should have been taken care of in high school. Students who

have to take remedial courses in college, the remedial classes drain funding from other programs.

“It’s crazy. CSU schools are now offering summer courses for remedial students at the same time as when they are cutting current programs at school,” Straight said.

Despite these problems, Straight recommends that students do not eliminate CSU schools from their college lists.

“Most students’ first reaction will be that they are going to school out-of-state, when in reality they should be looking at community colleges that offer the same basic classes as most four-year universities,” Straight said.

Students increasingly moving towards independent studies

by Mannal Haddad

The Seahawks are migrating away from RUHS and towards independent studies this year, or so it seems.

With more students asking for independent study even though they may not necessarily fit the bill, the independent studies program has had to work with Redondo’s counselors to tighten up its admittance policies.

“I see more students asking [to do independent studies] because students see independent study as a way out because they won’t have to come to school as often,” Erin Simon, principal of alternative education, said. “They just don’t want to go to school 5 days a week, but we’re doing more assessing now.”

Contrary to the popular belief that independent study is easier, Susan Stewart, a teacher in the independent studies department, feels that independent studies may be harder as the classes are the same but students need to have the motivation to do the work by themselves.

“It puts more pressure on the students to be responsible for what they learn. They have to take the information and study it on their own,” Stewart said.

According to Simon, more students are opting for independent study because they feel like they don’t fit in at Redondo.

“Continuation schools were devised as a system for students who are credit deficient. It’s evolved to students who’ve completed all their credits but who don’t like the culture or want something smaller or [something] that fits their needs,” Simon said.

Most students in the alternative education system are still the ones that need to make up credits, but it also offers an alternative setting to students who are on track with their credits but who may need more one-on-one attention or a shorter schedule.

“The bulk is students who are credit deficient, but we’re seeing students who like the environment because it works better for them,” Simon said.

Simon has seen this trend in students who chose independent study because they need to help their families financially.

“In this bad economic time, we’re seeing more students who need a shorter schedule to help with the money or to watch siblings while their parents work two or three jobs,” she said.

Independent studies would work for these students because the curriculum is the same as that of regular education, although there are no Advanced Placement or Honors courses. Redondo Shores’ administration is currently working on making the coursework more rigorous so they will be UC/CSU eligible.

“The appeal to students is that they can get a high school diploma from a comprehensive school and still go on to junior college, trade school, or the military, and they can still be successful,” she said.

Although independent studies has appeal to students, administration wants to make sure they’ve tried all the other options first.

“We push our students to complete the courses here, but independent study would come into play when we’ve exhausted all the other options.” Assistant Principal Adam Genovese said. “We’ve considered independent study; it just isn’t the first option.”

The number of students entering independent study is has dwindled because the counselors, along with Genovese and

Simon, are working together to make sure that the students who need independent study the most are given the priority.

“I see less and less people coming in and it’s being used for the students who need it,” Annie Pacheco, the office manager of the independent studies program, said.

“We’re using it the way it should be used.”

Shaun Lloyd, a teacher in the program, also believes the program has seen a decrease in students, as it’s now only accepting the students who would succeed in the program.

“It’s an option, and it’s the perfect place for certain people but not everyone can do this,” she said. “Students may want it, but it needs to be approved. It’s not an easy option; it’s a different option.”

Elite Star Incentive Program FIRST SEMESTER

The Elite Star Incentive Program will reward students who: ­

Gain 25 points or growth in any CST content area or score in the advanced range in any content area

SECOND SEMESTER over a 3.0 average GPA No behavorial referrals No unexcused absences No more than three tardies

New classes for next year:

-AP Chinese Language and Culture

-This course will provide students more advanced practices in listening, speaking, writing, grammar, culture and conversation skills of Mandarin.

-Digital Electronics

-The course develops the hands on skills of circuit construction as well as the analytical skill of understanding how digital circuits work.f –from redondounion.org

Students who qualify will be given : A Sea Hawk Elite card on registration A Sea Hawk Elite t-shirt Free entry into specified athletic event(s) throughout the school year One early dismissal to lunch per quarter ­Invited to lunch barbeque Entered into a drawing to win an iPad and several other prizes

4

OPINION // April 6, 2012

HOW TO

SHRINKA CITY New environmental laws force AES to make a decision about either cutting down the plant or restoring it. Both sides will present their case next Tuesday, April 10, in the City Council chambers.

Pro It’s no secret: the facilities that process the fossil fuels which power our city do not enhance the landscape.

The hideous, industrial machines may keep

by Anthony Leong our city churning but there is no doubt they make things look a little less idyllic. For this reason, it seems a number of people would like to see the power plant torn down.

In light of the fact that much of the power plant is no longer in operation, this doesn’t seem like such an unreasonable request.

Admittedly, it is a little depressing that the ocean is blocked by the structure for a significant portion of Pacific Coast Highway.

But here’s some food for thought: maybe the unsightly tangle of metal and pipes is a good thing. Maybe the ocean rendered invisible by this fossil fuel machine is a good metaphor for reality.

The fact is this: while the plant may be ugly, it is an important reminder that the things which must be done to maintain this society whose principal pastime is to consume are, too, quite ugly.

It may not be readily apparent, but a price is being paid every time we turn on a faucet, start a car, and buy a lunch whose mass is 50% trash 20 minutes after being purchased.

The cars that literally inundate the roads

Should they keep the Redondo power plant?

and high ways of Los Angeles every single second from morning to night come at a price that all Los Angelean drivers seem very keen to forget about.

Although tearing down the Power Plant may usher in a new era of prosperity for Redondo Beach’s businesses, this would cause many problems. Roads like PCH and Catalina Ave. are known for their traffic, especially during rush hour. New businesses in that area would mean more traffic for Redondo’s Residents.

Does Redondo really need another downtown area? New businesses where the power plant is would hurt the Riviera Village, the Pier, Pier Avenue in Hermosa, and many other businesses.

To be frank, the state of things at the moment isn’t something I anticipate will change anytime soon. As long as we are a society of consumers, however, I don’t think the price our planet pays should be swept under the rug.

We may live in paradise here, but it is a paradise beneath a sea of oil–and however much justification people offer, when that sea has vanished, things will not look the same.

So the next time you or your mother are driving down PCH on the way to school, take a good look at that hideous power plant, because as five percent of the world’s population consumes a quarter of its energy, what is happening here in America is no prettier.

Con

Amid the picturesque beaches and scenic harbors in the South Bay sits one grey, industrial stain. The

by Benjamin McLaughlin AES Power Plant is a sore thumb in our beautiful city and demolishing it and redeveloping its land would only lead to a brighter future for Redondo Beach.

The Power Plant is, above all, a waste of valuable space. Redeveloping the land that the Power plant sits on would open up the land from Hermosa to the Pier and make it much more desirable for businesses and tourists. Redeveloping the area would lead to great economic gain for Redondo Beach.

On top of the increased tourism and tax

revenue, the power plant depresses property value in the area by an estimated 40% (Building a Better Redondo). If the plant was demolished, Property values in Redondo would rise dramatically, leading to a better Redondo for everyone.

The plant is directly responsible for the death of a lot of marine life. According to Building a Better Redondo, pollution kills an estimated 2.5 billion marine animals per year. Tearing down the plant would greatly help heal the ocean from pollutants.

In the long run, demolishing the power plant will help small business, the environment, and the city as a whole. For those who say the Plant is a part of history, why not make a new, more prosperous history, starting with tearing down the plant.

PHOTO BY OF ERINN MIDDO

Power to the people. There is a possibility of tearing down the existing power plant.

5

OPINION // April 6, 2012

Independent studies does not compare to regular school Getting up before the sun, going to school and driving around for 10 minutes trying to find a parking spot, and running to class when the

by Camille Duong music starts to avoid being in the tardy sweep.

You make it to class just in time and listen to the announcements about upcoming rallies and spirit days and events like senior excursion. It’s another day at school.

It’s all a part of going to high school: the late nights doing homework, cramming right before a test, freaking out about grades and college, awkward encounters with peers, and being

HIGH TIDE

STAFF

Editor-in-Chief: Alison Peet-Lukes Managing Editors: Madeline Perrault; Meglyn Huber News Editor: Daniel Garzon Features Editors: Taylor Ballard; Kimberly Chapman; Anacristina Gonzalez; Bethany Kawa; Tricia Light; Jeremy Porr; Emma Uriarte Sports Editors: Tatiana Celentano; Julie Tran; Zach Zent Photo Editors: Erinn Middo; Jenny Oetzell Copy Editor: Camille Duong Cartoonist: Cooper Lovano Online Editor: Brianna Egan Staff Writers: Dylan Biggs; Matthew Brancolini; Taylor Brightwell; Torrey Bruger; Claire Chiara, Logan Collingwood; Andrew Czuzak; Navea Dasz; Navikka Dasz; Camille Duong; Brandon Folkman; Dan Furmansky; Shivaani Gandhi; Hana Ghanim; Cole Greenbaun; Mannal Haddad; Andrew Hazeltine; Nageena Hamraz; Katie Hill; Cedric Hyon; Craig Ives; Ilana LaGraff; Vivian Lam; Justin Lee; Anthony Leong; Diana Luna; Kayla Maanum; LeAnn Maanum; Isaiah Madison; Kylie Martin; Benjamin McLaughlin; Haley Meyers; Madison Mitchell; Chris Nguyen; Cameron Paulson; Allegra Peelor; Alejandro Quevedo; Lia Quilty; Sophia Ritchie; Jason Rochlin; Jessica Shipley; Taylor Sorensen; Savannah Stern; Hannah Son; Claire Tisius; Colin Welch; Cody Williams 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 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, One Sea Hawk Way, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.

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

2210.

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

Pros Students are taught knowledge and skills that cannot easily be communicated in classrooms.

Learning is convenient for the student. unsure of pretty much everything. It’s what romantic teen comedies are made of.

But what about students who are in alternative education like independent studies? Do they get the same high school experiences we For do? No, they don’t.

Being in independent studies allows students to work at their own pace and frees up their time for other things that would usually Cons take away from being at school. Students in It releases students from group-learnindependent studies have the opportunity to ing situations. travel the world, and pursue “careers” while still getting an education.

Not possible to ask questions of instrucThere’s nothing wrong with being in indetor or to learn from questions asked by pendent studies but can you get the same high others learning the same topic school experience? People in independent studies don’t have the same type of opportunities as people who go to school.

Sure they have more time to pursue their interests and hobbies but they miss simple and normal high school things. They miss dances, homecoming, rallies, spirit weeks, the opportunity to try different things [sports, nt ASB, journalism], and yeah nde d to us e p mp a e a h d they get a diploma c n ts n rI ies t fo studen ning o t Stud from the school but h g r d ri n they don’t walk at graduo’s ? Two en lea ende behin ideo h e W v ep ns w ies ation. tud se bet he Ind reaso profile S In the end is it really t o e eir cho rough or th tch th worth it to go into indeF h a or t ram. es, w pendent studies? Well that g. g c pro r choi t” at ne.or depends. Do you are about i fi the etter eonli things like homecoming, prom, b excursion and graduation? If the “A htid hig answer is no then independent studies might not be such a bad idea.

Depending on how you feel independent studies can either be the best or the worst experience. It really is up to the individual.

Too

Cool

School?

CARTOON BY OF COOPER LOVANO

High schooling costs detrimental for today’s youth Editorial We always hear about how eager society is to help the younger generation. From politicians proudly boasting that education is their “number one priority” to bright colored bumper stickers that read “Children are our Future”, everyone seems to agree that the country’s youth should be helped.

Unfortunately, recent developments such as the cuts to the Cal State program reflect a deplorable amount of indifference towards our generation.

California’s college system is clearly broken.

Colleges are more competitive than ever, and even if a student is able to get into the college of their dreams they might be held back by the massive cost of tuition.

In 2010 the average American college graduate owed $25,250 (nytimes.com), and this figure is only going to increase as funding for higher education is cut even more. The state of education in California is especially dire; California tuitions are rising faster than those in any other state (latimes.com).

The high costs of education have made it nearly impossible for our generation to be competitive. Thousands of students diligently work to earn their college degree, but are left to fend

In favor By the Numbers

The view of the editorial staff

15

Against

0

for themselves after graduation with bleak job prospects and suffocating debt.

Today’s politicians seem to all favor slashing education rather than risking their popularity by cutting other programs, raising taxes, and truly balancing the budget. While education reform may make good material for speeches, it is often deemed too difficult and expensive to enact.

However, the short-sighted tactic of ignoring the education system’s flaws is putting our country in jeopardy.

If anything, the events of the last several decades demonstrate that a strong system for higher education is critical to a nation’s strength. It was only in the years following WWII, when we heavily invested in education, that the US became the most powerful country in the world.

It takes no stretch of the imagination to see that the rising strength of countries such as China might be related to their extreme commitment to education.

It is time for older generations to stop dismissing the needs of the country’s youth, and for young people to stop passively watching as their futures are washed down the drain. Pro-youth rhetoric must be translated in to pro-youth action if America is going to remain on top.

6

FEAUTURES // APRIL 6, 2012

by Shivaani Ghandi

WHO ARE

THEY

Immigration policies may seem irrelevant and unimportant to many students. However, for Junior Kevin Ahir, these policies mean a separated family.

He lives with his aunt, uncle, and grandfather, 3,000 miles away from his mother.

His mom lives in Panama and is not a U.S. citizen.

“It’s pretty hard to live without seeing my mom all the time because I look up to her,” he said. “It’s really hard on her too because she doesn’t get to see me grow and mature.”

According to Ahir, since his family is in the motel business, they used to move around a lot to make more money. He was born in L.A. but moved to India and Panama for three years, Tennessee for seven, and then back to Los Angeles.

“I got used to moving pretty quick, but I still talk to a lot of my old friends,” Ahir said. “Baseball has helped me too. I have better work ethic and I’ve gotten close to my friends. I guess it’s like my outlet.”

Ahir hasn’t seen his mom in a year and a half and has yet to meet his 18 month old brother.

“I’m really interested in seeing who he is and how he grows up,” he said. “I hope I can see him soon.”

Even though he can’t talk to his brother yet, he still calls his mom often.

“The hardest part is hearing my mom tell me that she misses me,” he said.

Despite the distance between him and his immediate family, he is content to live in Redondo with his relatives.

“My grandpa’s really smart. He’s given me a lot of wisdom and knowledge about life and the importance of education,” he said.

He highly values education and made the “hard” choice to come back to the United States instead of stay with his mother.

“I made the decision to live in the states so I could have a better education. There are more opportunities and the education system is better,” Ahir said.

He believes that his situation has driven him to reach his full potential.

“It’s taught me to take advantage of the opportunities that life has given me so far,” he said.

Ahir’s uncle, Roshan Ahir, has been taking care of him since 2002. He believes that Ahir strives to do better in life because of his circumstances.

“I know he made the decision to come to the states and not be with his mom, so I make sure to push him to do his very best in whatever he does,” Mr. Ahir said.

In the future, Ahir aspires to be a pharmacist and bring his mother and brother to the states as soon as he turns 21.

“I miss [my mom], but I know my family has sacrificed a lot for me,” Ahir said. “I’m blessed for everything I have.”

Students open up about the personal experiences that have changed their outlooks on life

by Kayla Maanum

Two years ago, shock and surprise overcame freshman Wyatt Austin when he was told the news of his life: when he was three years old, Austin was almost kidnapped by his father.

His father was arrested, but shortly after being released from jail, Austin’s father beat Austin’s mother after a dispute between them. His father returned to jail and his mother, Jeniece Austin, was taken to the hospital.

“The doctor said that if my mom got kicked any harder in the head, she would’ve died,” Austin said, recounting what his grandparents told him.

Austin’s mother and grandparents did not wish to talk about the incident.

When Austin’s grandparents told him about the incident, he was surprised.

“It shocked me of how [my dad] could do that to my mom because she didn’t really do anything,” Wyatt said.

While Wyatt’s initial feelings were shock, his 13 year old brother Preston’s feelings about his father’s actions was anger.

“I felt mad that our dad would do that. I thought he was a nice person but it turns out he could be mean and abusive,” Preston said.

At the time of the crime, Wyatt lived with his mother and Preston in Bass Lake, California. Wyatt did not know anything about the incident until his grandparents told him when he was twelve years old.

“It was a couple of years ago when my grandparents told me about my dad because I still liked him, until my grandparents told me the reason why they didn’t like [my dad],” Wyatt said.

Having recently discovering about the incident, Wyatt’s feelings for his father have slightly changed.

“Now I kind of like [my dad], but not really. I have to personally meet him to judge [him] ,” Wyatt said.

“I don’t think [the incident] really has affected me that much. I just don’t really talk to [my dad] that much anymore.”

Though the event did not affect Wyatt’s view of life, it has influenced the activities he participates in now.

“I joined wrestling for a semester and I quit because I didn’t want to hurt anybody or even get hurt. I know if I get hurt it could get serious, like take my life away, so I stopped wrestling,” Wyatt said.

Preston believes the incident positively affected he and his brother’s close family since their parents are divorced.

“We became a closer family and my grandparents took us in ; now we all live together, “ Preston said.

Preston believes people should “never be abusive and unkind to people.”

From this incident in his childhood, Wyatt learned a valuable lesson.

“Cruelty is an awful thing, especially towards an innocent person,” Wyatt said.

PHOTOS BY CAMILLE DUONG

Nieves considers father’s advice for her sleep paralysis

by Navea Dasz

She suddenly wakes up in the middle of the night. At first nothing seems different; but then, she tries to move her fingers, but she can’t; she tries to sit up, but it feels like someone is on top of her; she tries to yell for help, but no sound escapes her mouth.

Seconds feel like hours. Junior Susan Nieves experiences yet another night of sleep paralysis.

“The only thing that’s not normal is the feeling I get that someone is in the room with me, and that

they’re holding me down,” she said. “I feel really helpless.”

According to Nieves, she experiences sleep paralysis more than once a night, sometimes even up to four times a night.

“I think the worst part is that after I snap out of it and try to fall asleep, it happens again,” Nieves said.

Nieves’s first experience of sleep paralysis was in March of her sophomore year.

“I thought someone had broken into the house

and was holding me down, because I couldn’t move,” she said. “I saw something but then it stopped, so I thought it might have been a dream.”

Not knowing what she was experiencing, Nieves was “scared” and confused.

“I thought it would be better if I just stayed awake, because it felt like there was someone who would just resume on holding me down if I fell asleep,” she said.

According to Nieves, her father’s advice and tips have helped her get through it.

“He gave me tips on what to do when it happened, like try to focus on moving my fingers and to try to inhale and exhale,” she said. “[The tips] have helped.”

According to Nieves, her greatest fear is not being able to wake up, and therefore tries to avoid having a sleep paralysis.

“It makes me feel really paranoid and I still feel scared at times when I go though it,” she said. “But I’ve tried to use my time wisely so I can sleep more.

I just deal with it”

FEATURES// APRIL 6, 2012

7

Odaka stays “on point” balancing activities

by Madison Mitchell

For freshman Mayu Odaka, a day consists of going to school for six hours, ballet for four or five hours, and then homework for three hours. Staying up late at

night and balancing schoolwork is a risk that Odaka is willing to make to accomplish her dream as a dancer.

“I sacrifice many things to have my dream as a dancer yet maintain good grades in school,” Odaka said.

Odaka goes to ballet school everyday at South Bay Ballet. Although she spends a good part of her day at ballet school, she makes sure to keep good grades.

“I come home late and I’m tired but I have to do homework so sometimes I stay up until like 1:00 doing my homework,” Okaka said.

Her group participates in performances at least three times a year. Getting ready for the shows requires a lot of preparation and dedication.

“Every May there is a huge ballet festival,” Odaka said, “We start preparing for the shows in during August.”

In May, after many months of preparation, Odaka gets ready for her performance on the big stage. The day consists of becoming a ballerina inside and out.

She warms up, reviews the steps, and gets her hair, make-up and costumes ready.

“My mom and other parents volunteer to design and make really pretty costumes for us to wear for the performances.” Odaka said, “Our hair is always in a

bun without any twists or anything and [we] use bobby pins, flat pins and hair nets with spray or gel. Everyone does full on stage make-up with red lipstick, eye shadow and all that stuff for the show.”

There are so many ballet moves to learn. None of them are easy because there is always room for improvement.

Everyone strives to look the best which causes a lot of competition among ballerinas. One of the hardest moves for Odaka is a développé. A développé is when you lift your leg up slowly to the air. Odaka gets a lot of pressure when she sees someone who can do a step better than her.

“Getting this step perfect is one of the hardest things to do because it is a very hard step yet you have to look beautiful and look as if it was really easy to do.”

Odaka started ballet when she was two and has been performing and practicing ever since. Freshman Alisa Ide was in a ballet class with Odaka when they were younger. She saw Odaka as one of the “best in the studio.” Although Ide quit when she was in fifth grade, she continued to support Odaka and has gone to many of her performances.

“Mayu is very devoted to ballet. It impresses me how much time she gives up for her dancing career.” Ide said.

PHOTO BY JENNY OETZELL

PHOTO BY ERINN MIDDO

Monali uses gymnastics to break out of her shell

by Dylan Biggs

The brush of the wind as she flips through the air is ignored so that she can stick the landing of the gymnastics stunt is what senior Veronique Monali does on a regular basis.

When Monali is getting ready for a flip she utilizes all the things her coach taught her.

Monali said, “I just block out everything and concentrate on not falling on my head.”

She said that once she is in the air after she jumps this great felling takes over.

“When you are getting ready for a flip you have so much pressure on you but when you are in the air you feel like you have no worries,” Monali said.

Monali believes that the worse thing about trying to stick the landing is the possibility of falling. “I hate falling because the pain is terrible, like you are almost about to break your leg,” Monali said.

When Monali gets nervous she just gets through the feelings and jumps. “I get really nervous at first but the adrenaline and excitement help me get through it,” Monali said.

Monali says she has been a gymnast for some time but has only just started cheer leading.

“I was a gymnast for seven years but I wanted to try out cheer leading,” Monali said.

She believes that her years as a gymnast have helped her perfect her flipping.

“I used to fall often but not as much now I have had a lot of experience,” she said.

Not only does flipping have a great physical feeling but Monali thinks it helps her get out of her shell and put herself out of her comfort zone.

“It helps me express myself,” she said, “I guess because I am really shy, it makes me feel like I am somebody.”

Flippin’ awesome. Senior Veronique Monali sticks her landing after a back flip.

PHOTOS BY CLAIRE TISIUS

8

FEATURES // APRIL 6, 2011

welcome back graduates!

Some of RUHS’s top achieving alumni take a stroll down memory lane as they inform us of what their lives have consisted of after high school.

Casillas succeeds despite her background Blast from the past. 1. Alejandra is glad that she worked hard in high school so that she could have fun later in life. 2. Alejandra was well-rounded in high school and had fun dancing in front of her peers at school. 3. Alejandra works as a doctor at UCLA and enjoys taking care of spanish-speaking patients.

1.

1997

3.

2.

by Nageena Hamraz

Alumna Alejandra Casillas made it her goal to work hard in order to be able to have a variety of choices despite her background.

“I think my goals were to be able to open up a path for myself,” Casillas said. “[My] parents didn’t go to high school and they didn’t get college degrees so it was up to [me] to work hard to make a good future for myself.”

In high school there were times when Casillas was put down by her peers because of her background.

“People probably said negative things because they were jealous, but I think Redondo is a diverse enough population to know that picking on someones background, class, or ethnicity is stupid,” she said. “It wasn’t a common thing, but it did happen at some points.”

Casillas pushed herself even further to overcome the prejudices and become valedictorian. And by achieving it, she proved that background does not matter.

“I felt intimated, but I was able to push through and get on top. I never belittled myself or thought that I was less than anybody else because of background or [external] circumstances.

We’re all equal no matter what and because we’re all equal we can all push ourselves to be able to achieve in the same way,” Casillas said. “If you as an individual believe in yourself and work hard, you can create something

for yourself regardless of your circumstances. Being valedictorian concretely showed me that.”

Thanks to all of her hard work in high school Casillas was able to attend a “diverse” college like Harvard.

“I am so appreciative of having been able to go there because it broadened my horizons,” she said. “[Harvard] was a very global institution because you had people from all over the world. The peers in my class year taught me a lot because they [have] diverse interests and backgrounds.”

Casillas’ sister, alumna Martha Casillas who was valedictorian in the class of 2001, looks up to her older sister.

“I’m proud of my sister- she’s very bright, talented, and inspiring,” she said.

Working diligently in high school and college, Casillas achieved her dream of becoming a primary care doctor at UCLA, now treating patients of all different backgrounds.

“I really enjoy working [at UCLA]. I take care of a lot of different types of patients [and] spanish-speaking patients,” Casillas said. “I’m interested in taking care of latino populations. I’ve [also] been able to do interesting research projects about immigrant health.”

Look for the story “Casillas works hard for others after working hard in high school” on the next page to read about Alejandra’s sister who was also the valedictorian of her class.

FEATURES// APRIL 6, 2011

I t all started here

9

2.

1.

After graduating from RUHS, Craig Ver Steeg coached the freshman football team which eventually lead to his career in coaching NFL teams.

byTaylor Brightwell

The road towards coaching in the NFL took him many places and allowed him to work with talented athletes and coaches. Alumni Craig Ver Steeg was a senior here 34 years ago; he was in the top 10 of his class and is now the assistant offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.

Ver Steeg was a hard worker, what some would call a bookworm, but after playing pop warner football and little league baseball he developed a passion for sports. During high school he participated in football, wrestling, baseball, and track.

“I felt really fortunate to go to school in a place like Redondo, it’s a really great place to go to school and it’s because of the amazing teachers and coaches,” Ver Steeg said.

Ver Steeg has coached for 32 years now but his coaching career started here at Redondo. While attending El Camino he was given the opportunity to coach the freshmen football team.

“That opportunity got me hooked on coaching,” Ver Steeg said.

After graduating in 1978 he attended

El Camino for two years and then transferred to the University of Southern California were he double majored in English and Journalism.

During his senior year at USC Ver Steeg helped with football as a student assistant and when he stayed at USC for grad school he became a graduate assistant where he helped coach the scout team.

During his first year as a graduate assistant coach Ver Steeg and fellow graduate assistant coach Chuck Pagano, the current head coach for the Indianapolis Colts, had the opportunity to go to the 1984 Rose Bowl and win.

“That was one of my favorite early memories, Chuck and I were only 24 years old and we felt like we were on top of the world,” Ver Steeg said.

After USC Ver Steeg started coaching at the University of Utah, then he went to Cincinnati where he coached with his current boss John Harbaugh. In 1994 Ver Steeg coached at Harvard and then in 1996 he reached the NFL where he coached for the Chicago Bears.

“It was a long road but every step was vital to getting to where I am now, I worked with some great coaches and

1978

players everywhere I went and each one of them taught me something,” Ver Steeg said.

Although he was at the NFL level he moved back to coaching college football for a few more years. After several years with Illinois, Utah, and Rutgers he returned to the NFL, this time with the Ravens.

“The best team that I’ve been able to coach has to be the Ravens, because there are great coaches and fantastic athletes here that all work well together,” he said.

Becoming a student athlete requires hard work in sports and for Ver Steeg,

3.

Pastimes. 1. Craig Ver Steeg coaches at the NFL level now and believes that he has learned new things from everyone he has worked with. 2. Ver Steeg graduated in the top 10 kids in his class and was know as a bookworm. 3. Ver Steeg participated in many sports in high school.

athletics and academics go hand in hand.

Each person’s career has many steps to get to where they want to be and Ver Steeg’s chosen career just happened to have a lot of steps.

Casillas works hard for others after graduating

by Nageena Hamraz

The crowd was cheering. Hundreds of eyes were watching her walk up the steps towards the podium. The crowd suddenly became silent, not a single sound in the air as valedictorian of 2001 Martha Casillas began her speech.

Throughout high school, Casillas was involved in many service clubs including Cervantes, which annually provides Christmas gifts and food to a needy family in South Central Los Angeles.

“From Cervantes and [the advisor] Mrs. Forster, I learned that even a Spanish club can find something good to do and can make a difference. And now, as a lawyer, I find opportunities to help others,” she said.

Even after high school, she has found ways to help others. She currently works at Fagen, Friedman, & Fulfrost LLP., which believes in improving and supporting public education.

“I’m fortunate to work at a law firm where people care about the work we do.

We practice law, but we also engage in it intellectually, brainstorming on how to solve problems in education,” she said.

“Every kid deserves a good, free education.”

Having attended two “amazing” schools, Casillas highly values education.

“I am proud of the schools I’ve attended. At Harvard, I was able to engage and form relationships with world-renowned professors,” she said. “At UCLA, I made great friends who are all like-minded. We

believe in fighting for a cause.”

Casillas has always found joy and satisfaction in helping others.

“In the past, I [helped] by volunteering at local organizations such as Semper Comites, Cervantes, and Interact [and] in college I worked to help underprivileged kids have access to education,” she said. “Helping others makes me feel like I have a purpose in life. Why not make someone’s day, week, or life a little better by doing something helpful.”

She continues to help as many people as she can as a lawyer.

“I’ve provided probono services to women facing domestic violence, people with disabilities living on skid row, children facing deportation and asking for asylum relief, and children stripped of

their disability benefits because of technicalities or because of bad luck.”

Casillas is not the only person in her family to become valedictorian either.

Her older sister, Alejandra Casillas, was valedictorian of 1997.

“I was happier when she got it than when I got it,” Alejandra Casillas said. “I was very proud, and I felt that she completely deserved it.”

Casillas became valedictorian through her hard work, but becoming valedictorian was never her goal.

“I just worked hard to learn and better myself, and the reward came as an afterthought,” she said. “I wouldn’t say it was stressful- it was pretty exciting, and getting recognized for my hard work and efforts was icing on the cake.”

10

FEATURES // APRIL 6, 2012

This is...

WHERE I’M FROM To read the full stories on this page visit hightideonline.org

PHOTO BY ANDREW HAZELTINE

by Haley Meyers

It is easy to get caught up in small high school cliques in Redondo’s immensely populated, yet culturally rich student body and never discover that the person sitting next to you in class every day has a remarkable story of family and culture.

Freshman Marcus Chong’s story provides the opportunity to step into the world of a first generation Chinese family who are extremely grateful for the American land of opportunity. The Chongs experience immense cultural differences when attempting to mesh with American society while simultaneously upholding traditional Chinese values along the way.

“My family works hard to provide for me opportunities they struggled for growing up in a communist nation, like a safe environment and the best possible education,” Chong said.

Marcus’ mother, Mayoula Chong was originally from Laos, a small country next to Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Her family immigrated to America as refugees in 1980 when Laos became communist.

“It was not hard for me to adopt the culture here in America because I came here at the adaptable age of eleven years old. Since I immigrated at such a young age I was able to experience both worlds,” Mayoula said.

Chong easily adjusted to and even embraces both of his parents’ native cultures and the American culture he is exposed to at

Redondo, which allows him to see distinct differences in each culture’s value system.

“I’ve noticed most Americans treat everything very casually. For instance, they are more casual at school and with the way they treat adults and elders,” Chong said.

This “casual” lifestyle differs greatly from Chong and his family’s Chinese and Laotiah values are emphasize diligence, respect, and taking advantage of all resources, whether it be food, education, or clothing.

“In my culture, adults, such as parents or teachers, can choose any kind of method to discipline the kids with no limitations.

Kids totally obey and respect the elder with no questions asked. There was never any “talking back” to my parents when I was growing up.

According to Mayoula, her family culture is specifically strict with high school teenagers.

The word “dating” does not exist in my culture. I was not able to date or even thinking of dating when I was in High School. I remember during my senior year when my dad showed up to check on me at the library and he was so mad because he saw me sitting at a big table studying with a group of friends that included boys,” Mayoula said.

Mrs. Chong continues with her family her native language, religion and food, but mostly emphasizes the cultural values of her

origins.

“With Marcus, I do not concentrate too much o n

“My family works hard to provide for me opportunities they struggled for growing up,” strictly t e achChong said.

ing the culture, but rather on the fundamentals of being a good citizen, such as the morals, values, and principles. I hands down thank my parents for teaching me that it is the values that are most important in any culture,” Mrs. Chong said.

Marcus admits that his parents are not as strict as the stereotypical Asian parents who are romanticized in the media like “Tiger Moms”.

“He can go to a movie or hang out or study with friends. Though, I told him that he is not allowed to date until he finishes High School and he cannot get married until he finishes college. But, of course I can only advise,” Mayoula said.

Chong follows his parents’ wishes to

employ hard-work ethics and diligence by working at his father’s restaurant, “Chong’s Chinese Cuisine” and by challengi n g

himself in school.

Keeping culture alive through the ages

by Ilana LaGraffe

Living in the Philippines with temperatures of almost 100 °F and a strict Catholic school system, junior Paolo Veloso has had a very different experience living under the California sun.

“Everything is very catholic and very conservative [in the Philippines],” Veloso said.

“There’s no separation between the church and the state, so there are lots of rules and rigid schedules in school.”

According to Veloso, California schools are very different from Filipino schools.

“It’s interesting here. I like the fact that we

can choose our own classes and wear whatever we want. [In the Filipino schools] there were even regulations on how long your hair could be. And everyone took all the same classes and had to take religious classes, like Christian Life Education.” Veloso said.

The big emphasis that the Philippines put on religion made him less religious.

“I sort of got turned off by religion because they made it such a big deal. I do believe there is a God, but because I don’t believe it in the same way that they do everyone thought I was either an atheist or a satanist,” Veloso said.

Because of this prejudice, Veloso become a “more open minded” and a “less conservative” person.

“All that oppression made me wild. It made me curious and made me want to explore new things,” he said.

Other habits he’s brought over from the Philippines are showering twice a day and eating sweet food.

“Everyone who smells good in the Philippines showers twice a day because it’s so hot there all the time. I guess I just never got out of the habit once I got here. I also have a huge

sweet tooth and a terrible diet. The cuisine in the Philippines is very sweet and when I first got here I actually thought the food was pretty bland,” he said.

The Philippines had a lot to do with what kind of person he is today, according to Veloso, but he’s still in the process of discovering who he is.

“I’m only in high school, and that’s when you’re supposed to be figuring yourself out, so I can’t put an exact label on who I am or how I got that way, yet,” Veloso said. “It would be no fun if I knew now.”

FEATURES // APRIL 6, 2012

Gas

Prices

by Dan Furmansky

It has been painful at the pump lately as students have had to manage more than just their time and their money effectively.

With gas prices roughly above four dollars students have had to cut down on recreational activities, plan things out farther in advance, and leave home prepared as if they were going camping just to save a trip to the gas station.

Visits to the gas station have become much more frequent as the gas budget that was sufficient a couple months ago gets you half as far today.

Students have found themselves arguing more about who has to drive rather than where exactly they’re driving to.

“To budget my gas I often ask my parents to drive me to friends’ houses and just get a ride back from them. I’ll also basically only ride my bike in the summer in order to cut back on paying for gas,” says senior Devon Bogart.

Before, driving friends was nothing more than a nice gesture, today driving a friend somewhere as a favor costs you a lot more.

“I’ve had to cut back on offering to pick my friends up or drive us to the movies. I’m definitely a lot less generous and a lot less

likely to offer people rides.”

There are three major reasons why the prices of gasoline are so high at the moment.

First, crude oil is currently trading at more than $100 per barrel which makes it a luxury to import considering the U.S. consumes around 19.15 million barrels of oil a day.

Another influence on gasoline prices is the geo-political unrest in the Middle East.

The value of the U.S. dollar plays a major role in the price of gasoline as well because as the US dollar becomes less and less valuable, the cost of gasoline seems to grow higher and higher.

For those that use premium, the high cost of gas is even more daunting. Senior Sofia Dilsizian has had to set aside a part of her paycheck and also have her parents help her afford to fill up her tank.

“Gas is so expensive that I have not only cut back on material things, but also my social life. Every time I am about to go out I have to ask myself, is this worth the gas?”

A question a lot of us will be thinking about as we watch the price at the pump climb and the gallons going into the car shrink.

Dealing with defeat

by Aly Peet-Lukes

“After careful review of your application, we regret that we are unable to offer you admission to [insert college name here] for fall quarter 2012”.

Seniors, we have all read this statement a number of times. Once your teary eyes scan over this deadly sentence, you feel your heart drop into your stomach. Panic overwhelms you as you come to the conclusion—I didn’t get in.

Unfortunately for me, I have felt this rejection five times so far (and counting. I cannot bring myself to look at my University of Washington admission status.)

It seemed like while I got rejected, everyone around me was getting accepted to everywhere they applied. I felt inferior and worthless.

Before my rejection spree, I was accepted to San Francisco State, Sonoma State, and San Jose State. The thought of attending any one of these schools made me sick. My whole high school career I was set on University of California, Santa Barbara. I was so confident, in

fact, that I laughed when I got accepted to the state schools. They were just my back-ups, I would never have to consider going to any of them.

But, I had to grow up and accept that life doesn’t happen in my favor, it just happens.

I found out that all three schools I got accepted to have great programs for my major, are in really cool areas, or have very intimate class sizes. Suddenly, my options didn’t seem that bad, and I started to become excited for the future.

I wasn’t able to excitedly announce to the Facebook world that I got into the school of my dreams or gloat about my acceptances to my friends. But, I can say that I have grown up this college admission season. I have proven to myself that I can adapt to anything that life throws me.

Seniors, be proud of wherever you end up, and don’t let any rejection define your own self worth. It doesn’t matter where you go. What you do with your college is more important.

11

Utilizing what you get at the pump Carrying Extra Weight

Keep Your Engine Tuned

!

*

Speeding

Use Recomended Grade of Motor Oil

!

*

Excess Idiling

Keep Your Tires Inflated

!

*

!

From fueleconomy.org

Money waster

*

Money saver

Didn’t get in? Don’t freak out.

Here are some tips.

• Write an appeal letter. Include new things about you that weren’t on their application or essays, like family situations • Revisit your other options and pick from them • Apply to a community college and transfer to your school of choice • Keep an open mind, don’t be so set on one college • Don’t feel overwhelmed or pressured by the cheerful facebook posts of your friends who have been accepted

12

Cover Story

APRIL 6, 2012

APRIL 6, 2012

Impacting our lives

Teachers’ perspectives PHOTOS BY DIANA LUNA COMPILED BY CODY WILLIAMS

History of the Power Plant

by Isaiah Madison

by Savannah Stern

“If the power plant could be more efficient in energy production and 33% of it’s energy output be renewable energy, it wold be better for our community.”

–Mary Simun

“I would love to see that area become a green space if it is not pivotal in terms of energy supply. I would love to see it become a wild life preserve.”

–Mark Rubke

Environmentally aware

by Logan Collingwood

As students like myself walked into our AP Environmental Science class on March 23, our teacher Ms. Simun asked us to place a tally under one of three categories, “New Plant” “Undecided” or “No new plant”. I decided, somewhat hesitantly, to place my tally under “Undecided”, since I didn’t feel I knew enough about the subject to make an educated decision.

Jennifer Didlo, AES’s Project Director, led their presentation to our class. The students quickly asked about the problems of the current plant, which were mostly aimed at environmental damages.

Despite the environmental worries, replacing an archaic power plant which has been around for 50 years is almost guaranteed to cause some controversy in a community. AES is planning on rebuilding its current structure in order to meet new regulations brought on by the state of California.

California’s new regulations state that by 2020, a third of power consumed has to come

The new power plant will be smaller and take up only 1/3 of the land.

If the new power plant is built, the sea lab may be closed as well.

from renewable sources, whether that’s geothermal power, wind power, solar power, or from biomass. California is also looking at making sure there is a reduction in the use of ocean water to cool plants, and trying to increase the amount of electric and zero-emission vehicles on the roads.

A main feature of this new plant is that it would use air instead of ocean water to cool its turbines. Using air would be less damaging to the environment but would be louder and require a new air structure.

This new plant would also be able to start producing electricity in 10 minutes, a vast improvement from its current 18-36 hour starting time. This would help respond to blackouts and brownouts. The plant would also be 30% more efficient, which would make its burning of natural gas more efficient than a standard gas stove in a home.

Overall, the new plant would be smaller, more modern, and much more flexible than the current plant.

After the presentation, I found myself willing to switch my tally to the “New Plant” cat-

egory, as it became clear that we had a necessity to replace antiquated technologies with newer, more efficient ones. Despite this, however, it is important to realize that if we were all to use electricity more sparingly, there would be no need for this polluting facility in the first place.

PHOTO BY ANJALI READ

Go green. If the power plant is remodeled, there will no longer be smokestacks in Redondo’s skyline.

The area outlined in yellow is the space the power plant occupies now.

The iconic “Whaling Wall” in front of the power plant may be torn down under the new construction.

The power plant, known to many as “Whaling Wall,” has a rich history that spans from 1906 to today, greeting passersby with its gray whale mural painted by world famous artist, Wylan.

The power plant, owned by Henry Huntington, was constructed in May 1906 and called Pacific Light and Power Corp.

“It was still a steam plant back then like it is now, but it was said to be the largest west of Chicago,” safety inspector Steve Winters said.

The “largest” steam plant created 150 jobs and boosted the economy by adding electric power in 1910. Since then the plant has switched from electric to steam and finally, after a flood in 1913, to hydroelectric power.

“Hydroelectric power was more efficient because it’s the energy produced from falling water as it goes through a

generator. It’s a high investment but there’s less pollution and nature provides the water,” Winters said.

In 1917, the plant was bought by Southern California Edison, who used the plant as backup for power emergencies. Eventually in 1997, Audio Engineering Society (AES) Corp. for $781 million dollars.

“The city had all kinds of ideas for developing that land. They had ideas from parks and hotels to housing and commercial stuff like malls,” Winters said.

Although AES did not give up the land, today they have plans to build a brand new power plant that will be one third of the size it is now, more efficient and ecologically sound.

“The idea for a new power plant is a good one. It would be more environmentally-friendly and the city could put all those good ideas for development to use for the freed up land,” he said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AES

With the prospect of a new power plant, Building a Better Redondo reflects on the power plant’s impact on the community.

Imagine riding your bike down Harbor Drive, remembering the infamous “Whaling Wall” that once adorned the AES power plant, torn down and replaced by a park. Building a Better Redondo is running a well-supported campaign against the power plant remodel. They argue that remodeling is unnecessary and will only contribute to the overdeveloped landscape Redondo has succumbed to.

California’s is no longer in an energy crisis. According to buildingabetterredondo.org, “Redondo’s plant produced less than 5% of its capacity.”

The power plant was only used sporadically to augment other power plants. The same report shows that the plant produced less than 1/10th of 1 % of our power in 2008.” In fact, the South Bay area has a sur-

plus power capacity of 26% without Redondo’s AES plant. If the power plant is not in use then why is it there?

Many believe that plant earns the city much needed revenue. But what is not though of is the plants depreciation of the property values.

Nearby beach condos values are less because of the noisy power plant and to the east of the power plant home views are tarnished by smoke stacks.

“AES generated $365,000 of revenue in 09-10, that’s less that 1% of our city’s annual income. The pier parking lot generates 4 times the amount,” according to buildingabetterredondo.org In addition the more efficient power plant would not require as many workers as the current one, which currently only provides jobs for 55 people.

Building a Better Redondo’s ideal rezoning would be 30.0% commercial and 70% parkland. The commercial area would provide more jobs than the current plant does and the parkland would provide much needed green space in Redondo.

“We envision running and walking paths and wetlands, we believe the area would be frequented by people working out, bird and nature watchers, and classes of children learning about wetlands, conservation and coastal wildlife,” according to buildingabetterredondo.org Redondo Beach’s voters have already expressed their interest in a park. Recently Voters voted for Measure G, a measure that would allow for the rezoning of the AES plant area, this measure stated that an area would be allowed for the plant but also an area for parkland. Unfortu-

13

nately, according to buildingabetterredondo.org, “Measure G gave AES a blank check on industrial development with no height restriction, no development limits, and no minimum set back requirement from the property boundaries and no costal harbor view protections.”

Unfortunately, Redondo’s beloved whale wall will not stand in either of these outcomes. So, it is up to residents to support Building a Better Redondo’s campaign if they would like to see the area around the plant de-industrialized or to support AES in their attempt to build a greener and more efficient plant.

If you would like to help support Building a Better Redondo you can sign their online petition, donate money, and express your concern to the local representatives.

PHOTO BY ANJALI READ

Whaling wall.

The “Whale Wall” was painted in June 1991 by conservationist and wildlife artist Wyland. The mural is 586 feet long and 95 feet tall, but he completed the paingint in just 11 days.

Students’ perspectives PHOTOS BY CHRIS NGUYEN COMPILED BY COLIN WELCH

“If it is taken down and houses are built then the city would be too crowded.”

–Natalie Zaragoza, 11

“We need power from somewhere, but it is an eye sore so we should get rid of it.”

–Ryan Spiwak, 12

“It is not a [visually] appealing site so we should get rid of it.”

–Adam Rogers, 9

14

FEATURES // APRIL 6, 2012

DON’T BE A BULLY.

Understanding the different types of bullying can enable you to indentify and prevent or intervene in bullying situations.

Physical: This is the most obvious form of bullying. This usually includes hitting, pushing, and other physically harmful activities designed to instill fear in the one bullied, and possibly coerce him or her to do something.

Verbal: Using demeaning language to tear down another’s self-image. These bullies use words and manipulate their tone of voice to taunt and humiliate others.

Emotional: Aims at getting someone else to feel isolated, alone and may even prompt depression. This type of bullying is designed to get others to ostracize the person being bullied.

Cyber: Uses instant messaging, cell phone text messages ,and online social networks like Facebook, MySpace, and Formspring to humiliate, scare, and embarrass others. The security of anonymity emboldens bullies to push the limits of standard bullying.

ILLUSTRATION BY VALERIE CHOI

Information from bullyingstatistics.org

64 63 41 87

the statistics Data gathered from eight classes total, grades 9-12. percentage of students who have been bullied

percentage of students say bullying is an issue at RUHS

percentage of students who have bullied their peers

percentage of students that believe bullying is acceptable under certain circumstances

FEATURES// APRIL 6, 2012

15

SSA paving to confide in her parents, Senior Rosemary Death & . Unable Lee* can find no safe haven at school or at home.

.

Depression

*name has been changed to protect subject’s identity

by Vivian Lam

She remembered a person saying hurtful comments to her before the screaming and the crying engulfed her and she fell into darkness. She woke up in a mental hospital and was told that she had tried to kill herself.

Senior Rosemary Lee had been dealing with bullying all her life.

“In elementary school, children liked to take advantage of me. I didn’t think people could be bad,” she said.

Lee doesn’t believe that she has done anything worth being bullied for.

“I guess it was because I was different; you know ‘weird’,” she said.

The taunts for her supposed weirdness began in middle school.

“Girls called me a lesbian because people said I stared at girls changing which wasn’t true,” she said. “But it hurt a lot because I was confused about how I felt for girls. It made me feel like a freak.”

To make matters worse, her friends were not people she could ever count

on.

“They used to tease me and tell people my secrets because they though it was funny or wanted revenge for whatever reason,” Lee said. “I was so desperate for friends because I was scared of being alone

so I let them do [these] things to me.”

After a month in the mental hospital, she entered high school, where the bully-

ing finally stopped until it suddenly resurfaced her senior year.

“My ex-friends decided to get other people involved in my problems and I found myself being hurt again by other people,” she said. “Things went around about me being a ‘theif ’, a ‘slut’, and ‘crazy’.”

Her experience with bullies has made her paranoid and suspicious of every person she comes across.

“I try really hard to think people are good, but I can’t help but think that they are cruel,” Lee said. “All I can say is [that] I at least can handle my emotions better.”

Her parents always told her to forget what the bullies say and stop being so weak because the bullies just wanted to break her.

“So I tried to be strong and hide my emotions,” she said. “I didn’t realize I was falling into a dark cycle that was going to keep happening to me throughout my school life.”

kinds of jokes,” Mahboobani said.

Mahboobani says that if a student is being bullied from a teacher, then “the student should talk to a different teacher or even have an administrator get involved.”

Making the student feel humiliated or saying something bad about the student with a serious tone of voice is what Mahboobani considers crossing the line and says that a teacher should know what to say and what not to say.

“I think they choose their words very carefully and that the teachers know the students who wouldn’t take it in a bad way,” Mahboobani said.

Flores said that it is usually the teacher that a student can come forward to without having to forgo the anxiety of embarrassment, and if the teacher violates that, then it could be considered bullying.

“If a student feels threatened or uncomfortable with another student, something should be done to make that student feel comfortable, not the other way around,” Flores said.

Flores says that she always jokes around with her students and that she even played a prank for her class on April Fool’s Day last year. But Flores “does understand that there is a line there and that [she] tries not to cross it.”

“I feel that bullying from a teacher is more like being cynical or making the student feel unwanted, not sarcastically joking around,” Flores said.

Flores feels that there should be a bigger awareness of bullying around the school not only for students, but for teachers to make Redondo a safer place.

“ I was so desperate for

friends because I was scared of being alone...I didn’t realize that I was falling into a dark cycle that was going to keep happening to me.

-Rosemary Lee

”

Walking a fine line

by Justin Lee

Where do teachers cross the line between teasing and taunting? For Spanish teacher Ms. Flores, there is a very fine line between joking around and bullying among teachers and students.

“It has to do with you humor first of all because they are much younger than you. Sometimes, if it’s just sarcasm, your student may translate it differently,” Flores said.

Sophomore Sanjay Mahboobani feels that there is a fine line between bullying and joking around as well, but believes that it depends on the student.

“If you’re joking with a kid who already has a low self-esteem, they could take it in the wrong way. However if the kid seems to be confident and has a high self-esteem, you know that they almost expect to have people say those

HOW TO DEAL WITH A BULLY. Information from waysandhow.com & kidshealth.org

Get a friend (and be a friend). Two is better than one if you’re trying to avoid being bullied. Make a plan to walk with a friend or two on the way to school or snack or lunch or wherever you think you might encounter the bully.

Offer to do the same if a friend is having bully trouble. Get involved if you see bullying going on in your school — tell an adult, stick up for the kid being bullied, and tell the bully to stop.

No secrets. Don’t let bullies ruin your high school experience or keep you from doing something you want to. Teachers, parents, and even your fellow students are there for you. In today’s society, bullying is not meant to be ignored especially with the recent rise of the media’s attention for it.

Do your part by disclosing the problem.

the way

by Alejandro Quevedo

Thoughtless, insensitive behavior can scar and burden students for a lifetime. In schools, there are many resources to help fend off this abuse, ranging from clubs to organizations, and even to schoolwide programs like Safe School Ambassadors.

Safe School Ambassadors is a nationwide program dedicated to prevent bullying and violence in schools through nonviolent communication and intervention skills (http://www.community-matters.org/safeschool-ambassadors/). Facilitated at RUHS by teacher Jeffrey Rosadini, they meet twice a month, once as a large group and the other in smaller groups led by an assigned group leader, and discuss ways to prevent bullying and diffuse heated situations. Members apply what they learn around campus helping to build a safer, more constructive academic environment.

“I think it’s a really great program that benefits everyone,” freshman Brigid Antonelli, who has been in the program for three years, said.

Ambassadors watch out for bullying on campus and, if they feel that they can help the situation, they step in to help using the diffusion methods they practice.

“We have all been trained on how to handle certain situations so I feel very prepared,” Antonelli said.

Each ambassador has reasons for sticking with the program, ranging from friends in the program to the lessons it teaches them to settle disputes.

“I’ve kind of become kind of a mediator between my friends,” freshman Steven BellNixon, who has been an ambassador for two years, said. “I like that I can help keep them from fighting and help them settle their arguments peacefully.”

According to Rosadini, the program has has been a success at RUHS and continues to be. A recent survey conducted among students shows that while 30.5% questions in total indicating a safer school environment were trending negatively, 54.7% were trending positively, showing that since the program was implemented the school has become a safer, more constructive environment.

“I think its going really well,” Rosadini said. “We have now have around 75 ambassadors…it’s more structured this year so there’s more participation.”

Rosadini has high hopes for the program because over the next year or two students who have been in the program since elementary school will be arriving as incoming freshmen.

“When we get the other kids here and our numbers go up, it’ll have more of an impact and raise awareness,” Rosadini said.

“The more students working as safe school ambassadors, the farther the reach.”

16

FEATURES // APRIL 6, 2012

KEEPING IT IN THE

From a plumbing company to a chain of barbershops, many Redondo businesses are run by the families of students.

FAMILY Mattucci businesses thrive

by Cameron Paulson

Continuing the legacy. Joseph Mattucci was inspired to begin his own tailoring business by his father, who owned a shop in Italy.

PHOTO BY ANDREW HAZELTINE

People have dreamed of making their fortunes in America for centuries. However, the majority of immigrants struggle to succeed. Over 50 years ago junior Enzo Mattucci’s grandfather, Joseph, defied expectations and opened his own shop, setting the stage for what has become a legacy of family owned businesses.

Not only does Mattucci’s grandfather own a business, but his father and uncle do as well.

“My dad owns Mattucci Plumbing, my grandpa owns Mattucci Tailoring, and my uncle owns Mattucci Real estate,” Enzo said. “It’s a lot to keep up with.”

Joseph started his tailoring business after his father started one in Italy.

“I grew up in my father’s shop in Rome,” Joseph said. “My whole life I knew I was supposed to be a tailor.”

Joseph first came to America in 1966. He and his father opened their first shop in West Hollywood. “[The store] was beautiful. We made trips back and forth between Italy and California before opening up my current store in Redondo Beach [in 1972],” Joseph said.

Although Enzo is not very involved with his grandfather’s line of work, he is interested in his father’s plumbing business.

“My dad started his business right before I was born,” he said. “[Recently] I’ve started to work a little on the weekends and over the summer.”

Mattucci’s father, Guido Mattucci, started Mattucci Plumbing in 1990. “[Opening the business] just kind of happened,” Guido said. “I hadn’t always planned to own a plumbing business.”

Enzo feels that he will eventually follow his family’s tradition and own his own business.

“I definitely want to own my own business, probably plumbing,” Enzo said. “I might even go to college for construction management and expand my dad’s business.”

Guido hopes for Enzo to eventually take over his business or start his own, but Enzo does not find the pressure too intimidating.

“It’s a high expectation, but I’m ready for it,” Mattucci said. “I hope one day I can be as successful as my family. I plan to carry on the name in businesses.”

FEATURES // APRIL 6, 2012

17

Thompson barbershops expand

by Katie Hill

When junior Loagan Thompson’s parents opened their first barbershop, Stormy’s, they had no idea what to expect.

But now, 15 years later, the Thompsons have just opened their third shop.

Norm and Bobbi Thompson built their barbershop business from the ground up. Each shop is family owned, and provides a welcoming feel to all clients according to Loagan.

“There is a sense of closeness in the shop,” Loagan said.

“The barbers really value their relationship with the customers.”

Friendly stylists are not the barbershops’ only strength; the Thompsons work hard to make sure every aspect of their shops is of the best quality. “[It’s important to] have high standards in our shop appearance, along with keeping up with the latest trends in hairstyles,” Norm said.

Each shop has its own eye-catching style and décor. One shop’s style even caught the attention of Kobe Bryant. The famous Laker player was drawn to the shop after noticing a piece of artwork on the wall while walking by.

“Our newest location has a collection of vintage pedal cars and pin-up girl pictures,” Bobbi said. “Each time you enter something new catches your eye that you didn’t see the last time.”

The newest location, Redondo Barbershop, is on PCH just minutes from RUHS. “I advise everyone that’s looking for a fresh cut to go there,” senior Jake Jiminez said. “You won’t be disappointed.”

The barbers are skilled at styling any type of hair for any gender or age. “[We can do any style] from faux hawks to mohawks, tapers to fades, or an old school straight razor face shave,” Norm said.

He feels that while each barbershop is unique, they all provide the same great experience to every customer.

“You will always receive great customer service, a good attitude from the barbers, and a great haircut every time,” Bobbi said.

1.

2.

4.

3.

PHOTOS BY JULIE D’EATH

More than meets the eye. 1. The stylists can do everything from classic to modern cuts. 2. Each store has its own unique theme. 3. The first location, Stormy’s Chop Shop, is located in North Redondo. 4. Black-and-white photos line the walls.

Levchenko Tennis closes after 20 years of service

by Lia Quilty

It can be almost impossible for a small family-owned business to compete in the modern age of online shopping and mass production.

Levchenko Tennis Shop recently fell victim to the changing economy and closed down after 20 years of service.

“More and more people are shopping online for convenience with the misconception that it is cheaper to buy online than in store,” former owner Aurora Levchenko said. “I can really see the impact of online shopping on my store. Coupled with a bad economy, sales were not what [they] used to be.”

Stuart and Aurora Levchenko’s love of tennis inspired them to open the shop in 1992.

“There is a demand for tennis apparel, shoes and equipment,” Aurora said. “There is a limited supply in the South bay for high end brands.”

Despite its recent close, the shop has been a useful resource for Redondo’s number one boy’s varsity player, junior Derek Levchenko.

“I play tennis all the time, so being able to get free clothes was really convenient,” he said.

Nevertheless, Derek is supportive of his mother’s choice

to begin stringing racquets at the South End Racquet and Health Club.

“My mom is going to be home less now, because she was stringing at the house after the shop closed. She liked working at home, but she felt like she needed a real workplace,” he said.

Derek is confident in his mom and proud of her success.

“I do not [feel pressured to be involved] because she is really good in business. She helped keep the shop going for nearly 20 years,” Derek said. “I know she will do well.”

Aurora’s current expertise is the result of many years of practice, in which time she has strung over 30,000 rackets.

“I have built up a clientele who will only trust me to string their rackets,” she said.

Her dependability and proficiency has attracted famous tennis players such as Venus Williams, Donald Young, and Michael Joyce, who is Maria Sharapova’s coach.

“My advice to anyone who wants to open a small business is to maintain credibility to your suppliers and customers,” she said. “The most difficult thing about owning your own business is that you have to show up in your store everyday, rain or shine, and be there when your customers expect you to be there.”

L e s s L e a

o n s r n e d

After owning her tennis shop for 20 years, Aurora Levchenko has some advice for those hoping to start their own business.

1.

Be self-reliant. Cut down on operating cost. Money saved is money earned.

2.

Identify the demand and determine if you can fill the demand.

3.

Don’t expect to make money right away.

18

FEATURES // APRIL 6, 2012

of the

by Hana Ghanim

She runs towards the opponents’ goal with the ball in her lacrosse stick, dodging players left and right, listening for her teammates’ yells. She feels the pressure edging her on from her teammates, her cocaptains, her sister. The crowd goes wild as senior Micayla Kotzbach scores the goal.

“Its really exciting [being the captain],” Kotzbach said. “It’s a great process to go through and just learn about the sport and play it.”

Kotzbach believes the girls look up to her because of her motivation and dedication to lacrosse.

“I try to be the best team player instead of just the captain,” she said.

Kotzbach’s motivation to win comes from her sister, junior Allison Kotzbach.

Allison was injured in the game against Mira Costa two weeks ago. “[Seeing my sister hurt] motivated me to play better because I have to fill her spot on the team,” Kotzbach said. “I want to do really well for her.”

According to Kotzbach, the atmosphere at the games also encourages her to play better.

“When we have a crowd, we have to prove to them that [lacrosse] is a good sport and we can win,” she said.

Kotzbach she loves the connection the girls have on the team.

“We are really close, more like a family;

we always laugh and have fun,” she said.

“I really love the people and chemistry we have on the team.”

As one of her co-captains, senior Ariel Mistuloff looks up to Kotzbach. She believes Kotzbach is an “outstanding” captain.

“She is by far the most talented player on the team,” Mistuloff said. “She inspires us to try harder and watching her play gives us motivation that we can do the same.”

Although Kotzbach is a star player now, she didn’t start off that way. She began playing to get out of physical education her freshmen year.

According to Kotzbach, lacrosse has had a large impact on her social life.

“It gave me an opportunity to meet a lot of different people and make a lot more friends,” Kotzbach said.

As one of the people she met through lacrosse, senior and co-captain Jaden Braunwarth “admires” Kotzbach and believes Kotzbach “inspires” her.

“She’s dedicated, she gets along with everybody, and she’s fun to be around,” Braunwarth said. “Everybody loves her. I personally look up to her.”

As a graduating senior, Kotzbach plans on playing lacrosse at CSU Chico.

“I’m really excited; it seems like a lot of fun,” she said. “[Lacrosse] gives me something to look forward to in college.”

Boys’ tennis wins match against South, 11-7

by Allegra Peelor

Boys tennis beat South yesterday 11-7 despite playing in “tough conditions” and not having the same home court advantage that they had on Monday, when they played South at home. According to head coach Jessica Siebert, the team played well and was able to fight through the setbacks.

“It’s always good to pull out and win by the same score when you’re playing in tougher conditions,” Siebert said. “It means we’re improving.”

According to senior Chris Lew, there were some surprises and disappointments but the boys still fought through until they reached success.

“Our team dropped a few sets that we won against South last time,” he said, “but we also won a few that we didn’t expect.”

Siebert believes that the main reason the team did not have the exact same results as

doubles play-- all three doubles teams swept South’s number two and number three teams.

“Everyone did their job today,” Siebert said. “They either won with good scores or they kept it close.”

In addition to their second victory against South, Siebert believes that their win against North on Tuesday was crucial-- being their tenth victory of the season, all the team needs to do now to qualify for a wildcard into the CIF tournament is place at least fourth in Bay League, which she says the team is “well on their way” to accomplishing.

Lew agrees that the game against North was one of their most important of the season.

“It just really motivated our team and kicked us into gear,” he said. “Because we’re in such a competitive league it was nice for a change to see that we were on top.”

last time was because of the gusty weather.

“South is particularly windy and it’s tough because there aren’t dividers between the courts so there’s a lot of balls flying around,” she said, “but primarily [our setback was] the wind.”

For instance, on Monday, when they played South at home, number one singles player junior Derek Levchenko beat South’s number one 6-0, while yesterday the set had a much smaller margin with a final score of 7-5.

“Today [my opponent] played better, but the wind was definitely a big factor,” Levchenko said. “It affected me in my first set but I got used to it by my second and third.”

According to Siebert, two big aspects that led the team to victory were Levchenko winning all three of his matches and strong

As for the rest of their season and the second half of Bay League matches, according to Levchenko, one of the main reasons that there is only a small chance the team will place higher than fourth is because of PV and Peninsulas’ higher amount of experience.

“You’ll have people who have been playing longer and therefore have more experience,” he said. “PV has a tradition of having a lot of really dedicated tennis players.”

The team’s next League match will take place at West on the Tuesday after Spring Break. Lew believes the boys are ready and that they will find success there.

“We’ve been working really hard to prepare ourselves against West and we are trying to format our lineup the best that we can to effectively use all our players against them,” he said. “We really need to pull off that win to secure our spot in CIF.”

FEATURES// APRIL 6, 2012

19

Athletic accidents Juniors Kayla Ferron and Jake Cline overcome sports fumbles

by Claire Tisius

As she waits for her teammate to run up behind her and hand her the baton, junior Kayla Ferron takes off running a little too late and her teammate slams into her. They both fall. Unable to realize what just happened Ferron waists no time and picks up the baton and sprints off to finish.

At the Nike Invitational Relay Race, March 16th, teammate Jessi Bates, senior, accidentally ran into Ferron.

As Ferron reached to pick up the baton, she tripped but got up and sprinted the rest of the way. Ferron had to run the 800 meter and then hand the baton to Alexis Thibodeau, who ran the last mile.

“I definitely felt like a little disappointment that if I didn’t do very well I would let down my team, but I also was really just embarrassed and worried that we would do bad,” said Ferrron According to Ferron, she could not help but laugh right afterward and teammate Bates ran up and started to apologize. Ferron could not help but to take equal blame. However, Coach Bob Leech did not feel as if the fall was a problem.

“It wasn’t a big deal. She got back up and moved forward.

It wasn’t a problem because she got back up and ran [the 800],” said Leech.

Cross-Country placed 7th at the Nike Invitational Relay Race.

Last Saturday Ferron participated in the Mustang’s Relay.

Instead of taking another tumble, teammate Kayla Patterson had a tumble of her own.

In a 4x4 race, Patterson had accidentally ran the baton out of her hand when she hit a hurtle on the side of the track. She was currently in first place.

Patterson didn’t have time to beat herself up about what had happened, for she had to prepare for another race in 10 minutes.

“I had to run a 300 hurtle, so I had to clear my head right away because sometimes when you let things get to you they can affect the outcome,” said Patterson Patterson’s teammates were able to bring the team back to first in the 4x4 race.

Another athlete who had no problem jumping back into sports is junior Jake Clien. He was injured on March 12 while playing Australian football, also known as Rugby. Clien was injured on his right eyebrow during a pile-up.

PHOTOS BY MADI YAGLE

Face down. Junior Jake Cline suffered a painful face injury druing a pile-up in a rugby game.

“The impact felt like someone just hit me in the head,” said Clien According to Clien he was confused and unsure of what happened after being blacked out, but he knew something was wrong with his head.

“When I got up my head was throbbing and I asked if we could go [to the ER]. There was just a lot of blood that decided to come out,” said Clien Clien was out a week from doing any sports, but as soon as that week was over Clien got right back to playing lacrosse and Australian football.

“I was running and dribbling while playing soccer and I stepped on the ball and fell.”

-Afsheen Haidarian, 11

“I was playing volleyball one time, and I accidently got hit in the face by the ball.”

- Robbie Burdeken, 11

PHOTO BY ALEXIS BRACKEN

Trippin’. Despite stumbling before a sprint, junior Kayla Ferron successfully got back up and made it to the finish line.

“We were on a run one day, and I ran into a pole because I wasn’t paying attention.”

- Jessica Bradford, 11

20

SPORTS// APRIL 6, 2012

Boys’ volleyball strengthens performance

by Allegra Peelor

One point is all it takes. One missed serve, one kill, one block. In one play, the game can completely turn around, and in order for a player to maintain his focus after a game-changing play, he must have intense mental toughness.

According to sophomore Vincent Pizzuti, this mentality is the exact thing the boys’ volleyball team needs in order to improve even more than they already have. “We’re young, we’re really athletic, we have all the right parts for a great team to go far in CIF, but if our mental game is not there we’re not going to go anywhere,�

Pizzuti said. “Once we start going down, everything starts falling apart-we’ll try to fight back but once we finally get there maybe they’ll have another big point and we never come back.�

However, according to junior Ryan Baker, the team has been improving and their mental game is becoming stronger as the season progresses. “Sometimes we’ll get together as a team and talk about our playing and if we didn’t do something good that game, we have our input on what we can do better and then we just work on it the next day,� he said.

Pizzuti believes that not only their focus but also their attitude has left much to be desired in a couple of their games, including in their match last Tuesday against Palos Verdes. “We start losing energy from the bench and on the court and it’s just bad attitudes that bring us down,� he said. “If someone on the court isn’t being very positive then it just spreads throughout the rest of the team and the team starts getting down on each other and that’s when we start losing.�

Pizzuti and Baker agree that the boys did not play their best game against PVdespite beating them in a tournament a few weeks ago-because their mental game was “just not there.� “They got a huge point after a long rally and they just [built] off that energy,� Pizzuti said. “We couldn’t come back after that.�

According to Baker, another reason why they lost so badly to Palos Verdes was because they were overconfident - a sign of mental weakness. “I think that, because we beat them in the tournament, we figured we wouldn’t have to work that hard,� he said. “PV just really wanted to win since they lost in the finals.�

However, head coach Duncan Avery believes that the boys’ mental game has been improving throughout the season and that it just did not come through in their match against PV. Last Friday they lost to Servite - ranked two in CIF Southern Section in boys’ volleyball - in five sets, 16-25, 25-15, 25-20, 20-25, 9-15.

According to Avery, their attitude was a lot better than it had been in the past few games. “[Our strength was] our energy. Our attitude was unreal,� he said. “We had great energy, teamness, attitude-it was off the charts.�

He believes that if the boys are able to keep this high energy up throughout the rest of their season they will do well in Bay League and ultimately CIF. “Right now we’re two and two in Bay League and we have one of the toughest leagues there is,� he said. “We’re on the right path and we’re doing a lot of good things right now.�

Baker agrees that they boys have been working hard and is confident that the rest of their season will be success. “They’re going to be really good matches to see how our effort, teamness, and attitude play out,� he said.

BOYS’ GOLF

4 x 4�

PHOTO BY ALEXIS BRACKEN

Serve. Kill. Block. Senior Steven Vaughan gets a kill by tooling Servite blocker.

SOFTBALL

by Colin Welch

by Jessi Shipley

Boys’ golf defeated South 185-191 last Tuesday. The game was going to be a challenge because South was undefeated thus far according to junior Matthew Ferradas. “Going into this match we knew that South was a good team, but we were prepared and ready to win,� Ferradas said.

The team’s overall performance was attributed to their consistence and focus, according to Ferradas.

After the tough victory, the team will look forward to the rest of league play, according to senior Michael D’Angelo. “We hope to carry our momentum into future games and continue to win,� D’Angelo said.

Softball lost to West High 8-11 on Wednesday.

West was in the lead with runs for the beginning of the game but by the fifth inning Redondo caught up 7-8. “It was such a close game. They were beating us by a lot, but we pulled it together and came back and really challenged West,� junior Kristen Currie said.

Though it didn’t win, the team feels accomplished for ending the game with 8 runs on West. “We may have lost but we are proud of each other for not giving up and sticking with it until the end. It truly felt like a win,� Currie said.

2 x 4�

1MBOOFE 1BSFOUIPPE 8F¾SF IFSF GPS ZPV $POEPNT … #JSUI $POUSPM … &EVDBUJPO &NFSHFODZ $POUSBDFQUJPO ° ²UIF NPSOJOH BGUFS QJMM³ 1SFHOBODZ 5FTUT BOE $PVOTFMJOH … "CPSUJPO … )FBMUI &YBNT 45% 5FTUJOH BOE 5SFBUNFOU … )17 BOE $BODFS 4DSFFOJOH

1MBOOFE 1BSFOUIPPE 8FÂľSF IFSF GPS ZPV

… $POEPNT … #JSUI $POUSPM … &EVDBUJPO … &NFSHFODZ $POUSBDFQUJPO ° ²UIF NPSOJOH BGUFS QJMM³ … 1SFHOBODZ 5FTUT $PVOTFMJOH … "CPSUJPO … )FBMUI &YBNT … 45% 5FTUJOH 5SFBUNFOU … )17 BOE $BODFS 4DSFFOJOH

8PNFO .FO BOE 5FFOT 8FMDPNF $POžEFOUJBM … -PX PS /P $PTU 4FSWJDFT

8PNFO .FO BOE 5FFOT 8FMDPNF $POžEFOUJBM … -PX PS /P $PTU 4FSWJDFT

£‡nnnÂ‡ĂˆĂŽĂŽÂ‡Ă¤{ĂŽĂŽĂŠĂŠNĂŠĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°*Â?>˜˜i` *>Ă€iÂ˜ĂŒÂ…ÂœÂœ`Â°ÂœĂ€}

£‡nnnÂ‡ĂˆĂŽĂŽÂ‡Ă¤{ĂŽĂŽ ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*Â?>˜˜i` *>Ă€iÂ˜ĂŒÂ…ÂœÂœ`Â°ÂœĂ€}

PHOTO BY JENNY OETZELL

Focus. Junior Matthew Ferradas putts in match against South High last Tuesday. The team won 185-191.

PHOTO BY ANDREW HAZELTINE

Wind up. Freshman Kiarra Gallini prepares to pitch. She pitched for the first half of the game against West High.

SPORTS// APRIL 6, 2012

21

Baseball defeats North High in extra innings

PHOTO BY ANDREW HAZELTINE

Lights out. Senior Andrew Baer enters the game to relieve senior Nick Granado, the starter. His strong 2 and 1/3 scoreless innings helped the team win in extra innings, 4-3 against North.

by Jessi Shipley

The score is tied. It’s one inning into overtime. There’s a runner on third base.

No outs. Jake Jimenez steps up to the plate.

He hits a shot straight down the right field line, abruptly ending the game against North High with a 4-3 victory.

With North’s jump on runs in the first inning, the team had to buckle down and get the runs back.

“We started to focus up early in the game. We had a hard time hitting because we were facing one of the best pitchers in the area, but once we got our first hit we started rolling and came together,” senior Jesse Harter said.

With a minimum amount of errors on the field, the boys held North from scor-

ing.

“It wasn’t our defense that hurt us, North scored runs because of one home run that was hit. There’s really nothing we could’ve done in that situation,” senior Dominic Sutton said.

The team stayed tight until the end and played “aggressively,” according to Sutton.

“We didn’t doubt ourselves, had confidence and got big hits when it mattered,” Harter said.

The boys played a close game and were only down by one run.

“The best thing we did in this game was that we fought hard and battled. With runs on us we never quit, and everyone contributed,” coach Jeff Baumback said.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Matt Esparza hit in the tying run, which

caused the game to go into extra innings.

“Toward the end of the game, our pitching stepped up and shut them down, and our bench really got loud and fired our team up,” senior Eric Brown said.

With the intensity high and the pressure on, the boys stepped up their game.

“Our mind set was to keep pushing and not let up. It was our most all around well played game,” Jimenez said, “Once we saw the other teams intensity get a little shaky, we jumped on it and after that, we came out with the win.”

With their next games on Saturday against Loyola and Notre Dame, the boys are confident and ready to play.

The team believes it needs to work on getting bunts down and in the right direction, so they can advance runners without

getting the out.

“Baseball is a lot about strategy. Big hits are great, but if you want to score runs off of a big hit, you have to put runners on the bases, which takes strategy,” Sutton said.

Because the team is already preparing for their next games, they feel as if they will perform well.

“We’ve never played Notre Dame, and Loyola is a good team, but we have just as much of a shot to win as any other team.

The momentum will carry over into our next games,” Baumback said.

The team is on a four game winning streak, and is eager to keep it going.

“Since we’ve won all the games we’ve had in the past couple weeks, we now have the confidence and strength we need to continue the season,” Sutton said.

Girls’ lacrosse has more determination after losing for the first time

by Kylie Martin

After dominating the Bay League and defeating every team that they had faced, the girls’ lacrosse team began to lose focus. When the team lost for the first time this season, they experienced a rude awakening that forced them to become tenacious to win, determined to improve, and insistent on getting revenge.

“Losing was really hard on us as a team since we aren’t used to getting beat. It really shook us up too when one of our staring attackers, junior Allison Kotzbach, got injured,” junior Hailey Newman said.

After Kotzbach was injured, the girls had to adjust to her

absence and make a line-up without her.

“With Allison getting injured, our team is definitely experiencing a loss,” senior captain Micayla Kotzbach said.

“However, Hailey Newman is really stepping up to cover offense and defense. [Freshman] Maddy Farmer is also proving herself in defense by holding her own against all the difficult teams we’ve come up against.”

According to senior captain Jaden Braunwarth, losing was what it took for the girls to focus and take practice seriously.

“Now we work hard at every single practice, and everyone is really bent on improving the team to play the best that we can,” Braunwarth said.

Defeating Costa 9-5 the second time around was a vital

win so that the team could be the best in the Bay League, according to Newman.

“This game was really important for us so we worked really hard at practice and we even had a defensive specialist come in to practice draws and ground balls,” Kotzbach said.

Newman feels that losing to Costa 9-6 was a reality check for their attitude at practice, before games, and during warm-ups.

“We had a rough start at the beginning of the season with losing two games at the Rose Bowl, one at Costa, and one at Laguna Hills. We have a reputation to uphold and that definitely shook our confidence,” Braunwarth said. “I think after winning our second game against Costa and then another amazing win against PV, the rest of the season is ours.”

22

SPORTS // APRIL 6, 2012

Run, run, run as fast as you can. Junior Kayla Ferron leads her team in meet against Penninsula.

Catch me if you can

PHOTO BY ANDREW HAZELTINE

Junior Kayla Ferron took the title of athlete of the meet last Saturday in the Mustang Relay.

by Diana Luna

“And the athlete of the meet goes to...

Kayla Ferron!” the announcer said. Out of 25 other high schools, junior Kayla Ferron was announced athlete of the meet in the invitational Mustang Relay last Saturday at Mira Costa.

Ferron broke two personal records last Saturday first in the 4x8 relay from 5.17 minutes to 4.59 minutes and in the 4x4 relay breaking 60 seconds.

“I’ve always thought about breaking my personal record but I never thought about breaking it this soon,” Ferron said. “ I’ve also always wanted to break 60 seconds in the 4x4 and I did with 59.6 seconds and that was great achievement.”

According to Ferron with these two achievements and her many other victories along the track, she felt “honored” to have

been awarded athlete of the meet.

“I honestly didn’t expect myself to be awarded athlete of the meet. I was in the running against another girl from a different school who was also doing really well in her races so I was really surprised when they announced my name,” Ferron said.

Ferron feels that her hard work and her motivation is a reflection of her peers and coaches.

“My training with my coach Bob Leetch and having my teammates around like [senior] Rachel Bush constantly pushing me to do better has really helped me improve in my races, especially like the last races we had,” Ferron said. “All the hard effort is completely worth all of the running emotions I had at the end of the day, it was a true honor.”

Leetch had high expectations for the girls even though there was no actual scoring during the invitational meet.

“We’re here to give kids a chance to race at a higher level so that when a dual meet comes along the kids already have the upper-hand,” Leetch said. “My expectations were and always are to win as much as possible and to win it in a grand fashion.”

Leetch feels that Ferron has finally met her true potential in last weekend’s meet.

“Kayla made a huge improvement in the Mustang Relay. She is starting to show her true talent,” Leetch said. “ This group of girls are hard working and all have the same aspirations and that’s what this program is about.”

According to Leetch, Ferron was not the only one with a great meet last Saturday.

Senior Kayla Patterson was able to break a meet record even with an astonishing falter against the team during the race. “ In the 4x4 meter relay, I dropped the baton and all the while we were still able to get first and even beat the meet record,” Patterson said. “ Although I made a couple errors, I was still proud of being able to accomplish the race on a positive note.”

Unfortunately, according to senior Cameron Lawler the boys’ placed in the top five category rather than first place.

“We had some setbacks because [junior] Jordan Washington was out sick and we lost a couple other people in the 4x2 relay so we really didn’t have a full team,” Lawler said.

“It was disappointing but on a positive side note, we still placed pretty high against the 20 other schools.”

PHOTOS BY ANDREW HAZELTINE

Reaching new heights. Junior Dani Hatlen leads the competition in the 300 meter hurdle race to the finish against Penninsula. Hatlen continues to practice and cut down her time.

SINK OR SWIM :

SPORTS // APRIL 6, 2012

23

Will the team be able swim to succeed despite the loss of strong swimmers or will they sink trying?

Filling the fins. Sophomore Davy Thomas swims breast-stroke in scrimadge. Thomas knows the big shoes he has to fill and keeps that in mind during work-outs and meets. “I always keep the idea that I need to work extra hard in the back of m mind, and it help me continue to push myself,” Thomas said.

by Kylie Martin

Despite losing some of last year’s key swimmers, the boys’ swim team is their own as others fill the shoes of those that left.

“So far the season is going well. We are down some swimmers, like (alumni) Hogan Inscore, (injured senior) John Portis, and (alumni) Jonathan Diaz, but we seem to be keeping up with the competition and we’re doing a lot better than I expected,” senior Declan Andrew said.

According to Andrew it is hard to compare to last year’s team that had two extra club swimmers than this year’s team. He admits that the team is definitely not as strong but that they are doing their best to keep up with the expectations of last year’s team.

“Declan and I do up to three swim work-outs per day in order to drop as much time as possible before the Bay League finals,” senior Adam Rudow said.

However, Rudow acknowledges the swimmers that have become positive attributes to the team this year.

“We have sophomore Lucas Duffy to take over the breaststroke spot in the medley relay for Hogan Inscore and freshmen Jack Bradford and Tim Cho to take over the fly and free,” Rudow said. “The younger swimmers have been stepping-up and showing what they are capable of, and I think that shows that we have a good rest of the season.”

PHOTO BY MATT MARDESICH

Back to the basics

by Brandon Folkman

PHOTO BY CAMILLE DOUNG

The Facilitator. Sophomore Harrison Faecher dodges a Downey defender looking for an open shot on goal. Faecher plays midfield and has to balance attacking and defending his goal.

After another crushing loss to Crespi, Redondo lacrosse looks to use extra time between their games to their advantage. The team will face Culver City on April 13, and although they beat them in their last meeting, according to senior Tyler Clinton, it will not be an easy win.

“We should be able to get the win.

However, just because we’ve already beaten them doesn’t mean it will be an easy game.

We will be playing at their school so they will have the home field advantage,” Clinton said.

Senior Max Christy agrees that the team will need to come focused on playing their best to win.

“We beat Culver in our first game, but we will need to come prepared if we want the win,” said Christy.

According to Clinton and Christy yesterday’s 17-7 loss to Crespi was a result of the team’s struggle with discipline.

“We need to improve our discipline as a team and as individuals,” Clinton said, “We need to work on simple matters such as getting the ground balls and just maintaining

possession of the ball.”

Senior Robert DeBoer agrees that its the simple things that the team must work on in order to improve.

“We played hard in the Crespi game, but not to the best of our abilities,” said DeBoer, “We really need to focus on our ground balls, shots, and clearing the ball.”

Senior Eddie Clites, however, feels that it is not just the basics the team will need to work on in the coming week.

“We need to do everything better. We need to make beter decisions with the ball when we have possession on offense, and we need to work on using our defense to stop key players. We have a lot to work on,” said Clites.

According to DeBoer the team can practice all they want, but they need to really want to win to come out victorious.

“We just need to keep working as a team. We need to keep up the intensity and put our heart into all of the games,” said DeBoer, “Our season is about half over and if we want to do well we have to want it.”

24

SPORTS // APRIL 6, 2012

ANEVOLUTION OF TRAINING Although practice techniques change year by year, advances are best seen every decade.

Infromation provided by Mark Rubke and Bob Leech Compiled by LeAnn Maanum PHOTO BY MAX PITTMAN

Swim: ______ For years, it was already a lot of vigorous sets, a lot of repetition of sets. Morning practices and Saturday practices were mandatory.

1980’s

by LeAnn Maanum

2.

______

Swim: Morning practices were not mandatory anymore because of attendance issues.

3.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE 1981 PILOT

Lifting weights, running miles, agility training. These are nothing new to today’s student athletes.

Hard workouts are just a part of the sport. However, athletic training for school sports has seen a big evolution over time.

According to Coach Mark Rubke, the workouts today are very rigorous. Swimmers would start with distance training at the start of the season and it would grow in intensity toward the middle of the season where they swim more yards.

As the season progresses, they start focusing on race elements and do harder conditioning.

Rubke believes the most significant change has been the diversity of the workouts. When he first started coaching in 1975, students would swim more yards in the pool.

“It used to be just lots and lots of yards. Practices weren’t very creative. It was just pounding out yardage and there wasn’t as much attention to stroke drills,” he said.

These kinds of practices, according to Rubke, were “boring” and the students often lost focus in their workout.

“It wasn’t as much attention to stroke drill. I’d say now what you see on swim teams and what you see in

high school teams is the other side of that, which is they’re trying to mix up what you’re doing in a practice,” he said. “You’re trying to keep the kids more focused instead of just giving them a really huge set.”

Since practices were not very entertaining and “pretty grueling”, Rubke said students had to “keep a repertoire of songs in their head” to get through practice.

“I think swimmers [of the past] actually had to be mentally tougher. I honestly don’t know if a lot of these kids here would be swimming if they had to do the kind of workouts that we were running in the late 1970’s,” he said.

Now that practices have diversity, Rubke expects the swimmers to keep focus.

“There’s more emphasis on making clear what it is you’re trying to accomplish,” he said. “[There is] more variety, but also more demand that they pay attention to detail. I think being a swimmer now is more interesting in practice than it was when I started.”

Compared to the past, he believes coaches have been training smarter and are getting a better effort as a result.

“It’s really more diverse by far now. Coaches are thinking far more

Swim: Track: Practices have more variety More emphasis is put and are “more interesting” into core and upper body to keep swimmers focused. strength. Weight trainThe question became: ing varies depending on ‘Why not make practice the event a student runs. more motivating for kids The training philosophy who can’t handle the of Jack Daniels is implelonger sets?’ mented in the workouts.

-Mark Rubke

PHOTO BY ANDREW HAZELTINE

1990’s

“

”

4.

PHOTO BY MAX PITTMAN

With competition advancing, teams work to improve their practice techniques.

Improving their game only means progression.

STRONGER

Now ____

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE 1981 PILOT

Track: Practices were less “sophisticated” and athletes ran as they pleased.

Training was less organized and controlled than it is today.

TRAINING

1.

5.

creatively, including what they do on dry land. I just think we’re getting better results from our swimmers because we’re training them a little bit more intelligently,” he said.

Training has also changed drastically in track.

According to Coach Bob Leetch, weight training today varies from event to event.

“Our distance runners need to get stronger, but the weights are more to strengthen tendons and ligaments,” he said. “They will use primarily machines in a circuit type of workout with short recovery.”

In the past, training wasn’t very detailed and practices were not structured.

“We mostly just ran how we felt.

Today our program is much more sophisticated with very detailed training,” he said. “My philosophy is the stronger an athlete is from head to toe, the better their chances they are to have maximum performances and stay injury free.”

Leetch believes the most significant change in training has been building upper body strength, and the students’ performances have benefited from it.

“Both boys and girls teams are extremely successful and that is a direct result of their training,” he said.

Moving in faster directions. 1. Senior Declan Andrew swims fly in a meet against South.

Swim now focuses on stroke technique instead of distance. 2. Dawn Patterson, class of ‘83, runs in practice. Track now focuses on detailed training and sophistication. 3. A.J. Hayden, featured in the 1999 Pilot practices back stroke.

4. Freshman Elle Inscore swims breast stroke in a meet agains Penninsula.

5. Senior Lyndsey Mull runs the mile in a meet