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The Highlander

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What’s inside

September 2013, Vol V Issue I

Cramped classroom concerns

U.S./Syrian Crisis explained page 3

What do you watch?

How do you watch? page 7

“I don’t know who is in my class this year. We used to be able to do perform monologues twice, get criticism, and do it again. Now, we can only do one run through and not be able to learn our mistakes,” said senior Gina Castillo.

Students are not the only ones worried about class sizes. Teachers have expressed some concerns over classroom management and developing bonds with students. AP Government and Economics teacher Karen Ramroth said that having a large class size makes it difficult

Admin talks dress code

By Gabby d’Souza scotcenter editor-in-chief

The start of a new school year always comes at a time when the weather is warm, the sun is out, and students just want to continue having fun.

Thus students dress to the weather, to their attitudes.

“People start the year wearing t-shirts and shorts, sometimes guys get in trouble for sagging but it’s usually girls who wear shorts who get in trouble,” said senior Silas Pang.

In the past, the dress code has only been enforced by a few administrators and teachers around campus, but this year there is a much larger push for enforcement. “[The administrators] are pushing the dress code because they do not approve of the clothes girls are wearing,” continued Pang.

However, dress code enforcement is traditionally based on values of what is and is not appropriate for school, not personal bias against types of clothing.

“Most of the shorts...are fine, they are not super appropriate for school, but they are not that bad…we live in California I get it... it’s hot,” said Principal Lisa Gleaton.

Students who wear shorts, strapless shirts, pajamas, baggy shorts, and even multiple items of their favorite colored clothes are at risk of being cited for a clothing violation.

“I am not looking for beef and I am certainly not looking for the admin to get on kids [about what they are wearing], let’s just get ready for the real world,” said Gleaton.

The dress code was designed in order to help students dress as if they were dressing for work. Administrators want students to be presentable and modest.

The most pervasive reason for getting a dress code violation is wearing short shorts.

“This first couple of days I was like damn, come back from the beach people. Or, I think I saw that in a Nelly video!” continued Gleaton.

Gang attire is another reason many students can be cited for a dress code violation.

“It’s all about safety, and gang attire is not going to happen at this school,” said Gleaton.

While many students may think it is fun or macho to dress in a certain way it can be dangerous as particular outfits can be misleading to people who do not personally know the student.

Pajamas are one reason that, earlier in the year, both genders could get a violation; however that rule may soon be overturned.

“Wearing pajamas around is my generation’s fault, it’s hecka comfortable, but they are not school clothes. [However,] if Carlmont pajamas from the student store are acceptable then I am not going to fight ~Continued on pg. 10~

to build a personal connection with her students or provide individual attention to those who need it.

“With my AP classes, I write down a code on their essays, with each letter representing a comment, because I don’t have the time to write paragraph-long comments to my students. It would take me weeks to give them back their papers,” said Ramroth.

AP Literature and Composition and English IV teacher Joseph Hill noted that all his senior classes have been larger than they were seven

years ago. He said that while the classes are still manageable, it can cause hurdles on what he can teach the class due to limited amount of copies of books and small problems in the class become amplified.

“When I have 160 students who need to be prepared to write at the college level next year and I have to grade all their essays, it becomes a problem. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) recommends that schools implement class sizes of not more than 20 and ~Continued on pg. 10~

District boundaries may change

By Graham Godwin Staff Writer In a plan being considered by the Sequoia Union High School District, all East Palo Alto students will be given the same opportunity to attend Menlo-Atherton High School and no longer be forced to go Carlmont.

The proposed plan would take all of the graduates from the Ravenswood City School District and route them all to the same high school. Ravenswood students are currently assigned to three different district high schools, depending on where they live Carlmont, Woodside and Menlo-Atherton.

While discussions are still in the preliminary stages and a new boundary map will not be put into place before the 2014-2015 school year, district Superintendent James Lianides said Friday that on Sept. 25 the school board considered letting any Ravenswood City School District graduate who wants to go to Menlo-Atherton High next fall to do so.

The district also held community meetings in May to discuss the potential changes, and how they would affect both students and the community. Officials sought guidance on facilities planning for the district, which anticipates a growth of 20 percent in the next decade. Current enrollment is 9,247.

“The message that came back clearly as the number one priority from all those meetings

was the need to strengthen connections between any given eighth-grade graduating class and, if possible, a single high school where the students would go,” said Sequoia Trustee Alan Sarver of Belmont.

Sarver indicated that the district plans to keep the popular open-enrollment program, which gives families the opportunity to apply for a school other than the one to which they were initially assigned. On a typical year the District usually gets about 700 of those requests, and approved “upwards of 500 of those,” he said.

In the past, the open enrollment program has been used often by Ravenswood families, with 60 percent of East Palo Alto students already attending Menlo-Atherton. ~Continued on pg. 10~ Photo by Karenna Meredith

Advertisements invade Carlmont’s Campus page 2

For Leesan Kwok, it was a summer of uncertainty, excitement and worries. She didn’t know until the first day of school her schedule or her classes. She didn’t know if she would have any friends in her classes, or whether she would have great teachers this year.

That was compounded when she walked into her AP Government class: 42 seniors cramped into one small classroom. Some arrived with multiple AP textbooks in hand, while others had looks of confusion, as this was their first time in an AP class.

Throughout the period, the classroom was filled with noise as the teacher tried stop students from interrupting her. There were just enough seats for everyone to sit in.

“Thank God I have Chris (history tutor)this year. Not everyone will be on the same page, and I don’t like that. I felt so overwhelmed seeing so many students in one room,” said senior Kwok.

Individual attention is what many students want but don’t get due to an increase in class size this year. While the California Department of Education wants schools to implement a student-teacher ratio of 25-to-1, some have noticed up to 43 students in one class.

Photo by Veronika Dvorakova

By Sabrina Leung Editorial Director

The district is discussing plans to enroll all EPA students at Menlo-Atheton High School

Opinion Glossophobia Commercial Carlmont Page 2

By Max Ware Staff Writer

(Noun): The fear of public speaking

By Isabella Paragas Staff Writer and Cartoonist Dear fellow members of the Shy,

“Being shy” is no longer an excuse.

You are an intelligent, thinking, breathing creature like Them.

Yes, Them. We all know who They are.

Those who are your school presidents, the ASB members. Those who want to put themselves in the spotlight, who put themselves to be judged in front of others. On purpose.

We have opinions and ideas. We want to be heard. So why aren’t we?

Because we’re shy.

I remember giving a presentation in class once. I don’t even remember what it was about. All I remember was the trembling voice, the shaky hands, and the speckled blue carpet.

My younger self was too shy to look at the audience or dare to raise her voice.

But her shyness was not the problem.

The definition of shy, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “feeling nervous and uncomfortable about meeting and talking to people.”

Does it say anywhere that people who are considered shy are not going to be or should not be good public speakers?

No. It does not.

Feeling “nervous” or “uncomfortable,” or even being afraid is completely normal, even with people who do not consider themselves shy.

These feelings may never go away, but they can be dulled and overcome.

How? With the very thing we strive to avoid. Public speaking.

It’s ironic how it works; one must practice public speaking to overcome their nervousness, anxiety, and fear of public speaking.

Don’t make excuses for yourself to avoid it. Just do it.

Because, let’s face it, isn’t that what we’ve been trying to do this entire time?

I’m not saying it’s going to be fun. You have to force yourself to practice. No matter how much it’s going to suck or how much you hate it.

And don’t get me wrong, you will fail. Miserably, at times. You will stumble.

And you will get embarrassed.

But that’s how it’s going to be in the beginning.

Learn from it. And move on.

It will get easier. And you may even learn to enjoy it.

Or not.

But either way, you will get better at public speaking.

I promise.

Sincerely, Your Sister in practice

In the 21st century world of aggressive advertising over many forms of media, from the web to billboards to television, the youth of America are constantly exposed to the siren song of businesses. One would hope that perhaps this rush of commercial influence would be prevented, or at least sternly hindered, on the grounds of a high school. However, as evidenced by the appearance of large, attention-grabbing ads on the fences of Carlmont’s quad, this is not so.

A question arises in the minds of many: What do we, the students, gain from the presence of these banners? The answer lies in the motives of the sophomore class of ASB. “We had a sheet that we sent to a hundred businesses in the San Carlos-Belmont area, and we ended up getting three responses from that,” said sophomore class president Timmy Miller. “It was about a hundred (dollars) in postage, but about $750 in profit.”

As to where this money would go, Miller said, “Mainly school spirit, specifically class spirit. We had a ‘cookie pow wow’ for our class meeting my vice presidents and I gave out cookies to people who showed up, looking to give out foam fingers, or another fun item for football games.”

Activities Director Jim Kelly said, “Most of the money that classes raise goes toward the cost of their proms. Without class fundraisers like these banners and carwashes and clothes sales, tickets for Prom would be closer to $100 each rather than the current $70 each.”

I’m not against equipping fellow Scots with free or reduced-price class gear, or making prom tickets cheaper for them, but the fact that generally only sophomores will benefit from the advertisements makes me uneasy. The sophomore leadership acted not only on the behalf of the sophomore class, but on the behalf of the entire school population, most of whom will never see the benefits that the advertisements bring.

Indeed, the non-sophomores of the school now face taxation of their attention without representation.

Even if the rest of the school’s students were to also get a significant part of the revenue, the added cost of hosting the advertisements is far too great for all

students involved, and I’m not talking about just postage. The very thoughts of students are being invaded by the banners. Regarding the advertisement for Belmont Iceland, Miller himself said, “On a normal day, I wouldn’t think, ‘Hey, I want to go ice skating,’ but if I keep seeing a big banner, full of color, reminding me that they’re there, it interests me more.”

This description of a “big banner, full of color” perfectly describes what anyone who walks through the quad from or to class is subjected to against their will. The advertisements may not be as invasive as, for example, commercials heard over the broadcast system, but they are near impossible to miss. They also most certainly affect the decision- making of students, as Miller suggests.

Even more troubling than this immediate issue is that the banners are not the sole instance of such misdirection. For example, just this August, the California Milk Processor Board partnered with 21 school districts across California for the Sixth Annual Breakfast Challenge, according to PR Newswire. The contest was challenged to high schools, and promised to give $3,000 to the school in each participating district which had the most students consuming dairy products with their breakfasts.

Beyond the surface claims of the sponsor about the nutritional benefits of dairy products, the campaign clearly had a slant toward ensuring that the youth would continue to consume, and thus purchase, dairy product. It is worth noting that the Sequoia Union High School District was a participant in the contest.

“There is commercial influence almost everywhere you look in public schools. Here at Carlmont, you can find vending machines with commercial products. Some of the scoreboards used to, and maybe still do, have signs from an Electricians Union because they donated them,” said Kelly.

All of this creates a terrible situation, and therefore a dangerous precedent- that practically nowhere in America can its youth be safe from the draw of commerce, and that this youth, highly vulnerable to influence, can and will have its loyalties sold to the highest bidder.

Here are a few things to remember when you’re practicing:

1. The audience can’t perceive how nervous you really are. So fake it, ‘til you make.

2. You are allowed to avoid eye contact. Their foreheads are much friendlier to look at anyway.

3. Focus on the part of the audience that really wants to hear you. Don’t worry about those jerks who don’t even have the courtesy to act like they’re listening to you.

4. Force the corners of your mouth up. That’s right, smile! It feels awkward, but it will improve your mood.

5. BREATHE. Practice taking deep breaths. Or just remember to breathe in general, whatever is easier.

The old American police badge

Photo by Karissa Tom

By Michael Bastaki Staff Writer

It’s time for America to retire as the global policeman.

He needs to hang up his boots, relinquish that far too-often used handgun, and give that badge to someone else.

Over the past ten years, the United States has been involved in conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Egypt, and Syria.

During this time period, roughly 4,500 American troops were killed and 32,000 were wounded.

The financial cost to fund these wars was approximately 3 trillion dollars, at a rate of one and a half million dollars a minute.

This is nothing compared to the

total United States national debt, which currently stands at 16 trillion dollars.

To make matters worse, the majority of the money used to fund these wars was borrowed from other nations, which means the United States needs to pay vast amounts of interest on these debts.

Meanwhile, our society has struggled as a whole.

In terms of this nation’s workforce, the United States Department of Labor stated that eleven and a half million Americans are unemployed, which is 7.3 percent of the nation’s population.

This high unemployment rate in most cases results in a father or

mother’s struggle to feed themselves and their family, which is why the U.S. Census Bureau of 2010 found that one out of five Americans face hunger.

This Census also frightenly found that 26 million children live in households that were below the poverty line, which is the minimum income needed to survive in this country.

This begs the question, how can this nation spend 500 billion dollars on defense programs against terrorists when the National Institute of Mental Health estimated that 45 percent of U.S. citizens suffering from severe mental diseases go untreated?

The effects of these decisions by the government is obvious: a recent CBS study found that over 70 percent of Americans only trust their government to make the right decision some of the time.

The evidence is crystal clear.

The police uniform is in tatters.

How can a man be a good policeman, a true upholder of justice, if he doesn’t follow his own laws?

How can the United States strive to govern the world, to lead by example and strength, when this nation’s society and values are crumbling minute by minute?

The point is this: it’s time for the United States to stop focusing on its foreign policy and focus more on its

domestic one.

It’s time the United States focused on rebuilding our once-booming economy, demanded that politicians put aside their petty squabbles and focused on benefiting the nation, and strived to regain the people’s trust.

It’s time that the United States limited its battles to only the ones it has to fight, and left the governing of the world to the United Nations.

At any given time there’s a possibility that a radically unstable country filled with radical extremists ruled by homicidal maniacs will commit a great atrocity.

The United States simply can’t afford to help anymore.

News

Page 3

Infographic by Arianna Bayangos

A brief guide to Syria’s turmoil

By Ayesha Abbasi Staff Writer

Women and children were raped and mutilated. Bodies were thrown to the sides of roads. One shot from a soldier led to a repercussion of shots from protesters until it escalated into a Is Syria a country? full fledged civil war.

Yes, Syria is and has been a country since it was estabMost of these armed civilians organized themselves into lished under a French Mandate on Dec. 21, 1924. Syria is rebel groups. On the other side of the rebel groups is the a Middle Eastern country located on the east coast of the government who is accused of trying to terrorize people into Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, by submission.

The Syrian government has been proven by Iraq to the east, by Jordan to the south, and by Lebanon and multiple sources, including the United Nations, to have used Israel to the southwest. The capital city, Damascus, is located chemical weapons to control these rebel groups. in southwest Syria.

The report concludes undoubtedly that chemical weapons What’s going on with the Assad regime and who in Syria were used on a relatively large scale in the Ghouta area of Damascus on Aug. 21, 2013, causing numerous casualties, supports it? particularly among civilians. The use of these weapons has It all began when Hafez al-Assad was elected as president upset many countries, including America. of Syria in 1971, reelected in 1978, and ruled until 1999, which eventually became a dictatorship. In 1982 things took a turn when Hafez al-Assad responded to a Muslim Brother- Who exactly is the rebel group being talked about?

The Muslim brotherhood continuously referred to as the hood-led uprising in the city of Hama by killing entire cities rebel group or the opposing forces is made up of Sunniof people. He massacred thousands of civilians, many of who Muslim protesters, mostly Syrians in their twenties and had nothing to do with the uprising. His tactics worked, and thirties.

They came together on a local basis and had few it seems as if the younger Assad tried to reproduce them. His affiliations to older political ideas. They instead called for failure made the descent into chaos much worse. the release of prisoners of conscience, wanted guarantees of Bashar al-Assad, son of Hafez al-Assad, came to power in democratic freedoms, and supported the fall of the Assad 2000, after the deaths of his older brother and father. He regime. has been in power ever since. To sum up, Bashar al-Assad In August 2011, the “rebel group” formed the Syrian Nain a few words: he is the laser sights of U.S. guided missiles. tional Council to seek international support for the uprising.

The Alawites who were aided by the Al-Assad regime earlier The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood officially held five seats in on, are currently supporting the regime. The Alawites are a the Syrian National Council, the main opposition umbrella sect of Islam who include Bashar Al-Assad in many of their outside Syria, but created a network of alliances with other inner circles. They are a minority in Syria and are favored Council members, and created a controlling influence on the over other Islamic sects. causing unfair treatment and rebelCouncil’s relief committee.

The National Coalition for Syria, lion from other sects to rebalance the powers. Although the is seen as the external political body of rebels “leading” the Assad is backing the Alawite sect, it causes problems for the revolution out in the streets of Syria.

Brotherhood leaders majorities who are treated unfairly. have been reaching out to reassure leaders in neighboring Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon - as well as the West - that they How did the uprising start? Why are people dying? “have no intention of dominating a future Syrian political The Syrian uprising which started in March 2011, began as a secular and nonviolent youth-led movement. The simple system.” reason for this situation and the cause of uncountable deaths is the protesting. Protests over racial and religious differences evoked emotion in most of the Syrian population.

What started off as seemingly non-violent protests began to take a turn for the worse in April of 2011 when the government of Syria (also know as the Assad regime) began to take down any protesters in extremely malicious ways.

How is the United States getting involved in Syria?

As of Sept. 10 Obama has informed the general public that he will have a “no boots on ground” response to the Syria’s use of chemical weapons. This implies that America won’t be sending troops into Syria but there is a possible plan of retaliation against the Assad regime. The U.S. is also

Editor-in-Chief:

Still confused about Syria’s situation?

Check out “Syria in Five Minutes,” a video by the VlogBrothers. Use a QR code scanning app to watch it.

Features

Ashley Kawakami

Editorial Director:

Sports:

Sabrina Leung

Kellan Mcdonough

Business Manager:

Online:

Kristen Friis

Sarah Klieves Shira Stein

Arianna Bayangos Karissa Tom

Faculty Adviser:

Entertainment:

Photographer:

Dominic Gialdini

Russia seems to be getting involved but why do they care?

It all boils down to the alliances and economy. In 2008, Syria purchased multiple types of weapons from Russia. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said his country’s sale of weapons to Syria would not upset the balance of power in the Middle East. The sales, he stated, are “in line with the international law” and “in the interests of strengthening stability and maintaining security” in regions close to Russian borders. Carnegie Moscow center’s director reported in the New York Times that from 2000 to 2010 Russia sold around $1.5 billion worth of arms to Syria, making Damascus Moscow’s seventh-largest client. Why would Russia ever let go of such an economy-boosting country. Trade boosts economies and boosts in economy form friendships or alliances.

What are the American people’s views on Syria?

After nearly a dozen years of war many Americans are opposed to a military strike on Syria, even though most say they think Syrian forces used chemical weapons against civilians, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. The New York Times/CBS News poll shows six in ten Americans are against airstrikes. Even more (74 percent) are opposed to the U.S. providing arms to anti-government forces in Syria, and 86 percent are opposed to sending U.S. ground troops into Syria.

What do the people of Syria really want?

This isn’t an easy question to answer, because really, who represents the Syrian people? It’s been established that the Assad regime is currently willing to give up the chemical weapons to be deteriorated by international forces. Another representation of the Syrian people is the Muslim Brotherhood. So far the Muslim Brotherhood wants down with the Assad Regime; they don’t necessarily want the Muslim Brotherhood to come into political control, but they surely no longer want there to be the Assad regime. Then there are the people who are caught in between the crossfire of these two groups. These people are the innocent ones who have been dying throughout this civil war.

There’s one thing that almost all Syrian people want: an end to the violence.ng open discussions with countries such as Russia, in order to get different world views from countries who have stronger alliances with Syria.

The Highlander

Ryan Freeman

News and Op:

having open discussions with countries such as Russia, in order to get different world views from countries who have stronger alliances with Syria.

Justin Raisner

Veronika Dvorakova

The mission of The Highlander is to accurately and honestly cover communal as well as school events.

As a student run open forum newspaper, we strive to incorporate multiple views and represent the diverse community at Carlmont.

Staff Writers:

Ayesha Abbasi Jessica Adair Michael Bastaki Reggie Chatman Gabriela D’Souza Tara Ebrahimpour Kristen Friis Graham Godwin Claudia Leist Conrad May

Isabella Paragas John Russell Katherine Savin Scott Schulze Natalie Tussy Daniel Wang Maxwell Ware Grace Yi

Follow us on twitter @ScotScoopNews Infographic by Karissa Tom

Page 4

Features

Balancing school and work

By Claudia Leist Staff Writer There are both pros and cons when having a job as a high school student, but maintaining balance in life is the most important thing to keep in mind.

Some students’ parents fully support them financially until they graduate or move out, but other students are expected to get a job during high school in order to support themselves.

According to the US Census, one in four high school students work, and there are currently about 3.1 million students ages 16 and older working nationwide.

Not only is it easy for high school students to apply for a work permit, it only takes about 24 hours to be verified and returned to the student.

“I think it is important to apply for a work permit and get a job in order to balance life between family, being a student, and working,” said Carlmont Work Experience teacher Kris Govani. “It teaches students responsibility and independence, taking direction from authority other than teachers and parents, and how

to handle personal income.”

Many students who work got their jobs to cover personal spending that their parents urged them to start taking care of earlier in life.

“I get paid minimum wage, but I work at my dad’s gas station so he still supports me financially outside of work,” said junior Raffi Samurkashian.

Students with jobs often find themselves having to turn down personal invitations or activities outside of school because of their need to work.

“I have a fairly flexible work schedule,” said Samurkashian. “But sometimes I have to prioritize work and turn down attendance to activities other than school.”

Many working students have noticed effects on their grades due to work and the environments they are surrounded by.

According to a 2005 study done by Marsh and Kleitman, “as students work longer hours, they achieve at lower levels academically, are more likely to engage in negative behaviors… and are less likely to… attend or stay in college.”

“I have to speak Spanish with a lot of the customers that come in,

so I can tell that my Spanish has gotten stronger,” said Samurkashian. “Luckily, there have been no negative effects on my grades... yet.”

Students have also experienced effects on their personal views and outlooks on life while on the job.

“I see homeless people coming in and paying with the last of the coins they have because they don’t have dollars,” said Samurkashian.

“It really has changed my perspective on life.”

Along with learning how to handle work permits and how to apply for jobs, the students in Govani’s Work Experience class are working with a program called “Future Profits” that teaches valuable skills such as financial literacy.

“In the past we focused on health and safety, taxes, employer regulations, and soft, tangible skills such as these,” said Govani. “Now that we have Future Profits we are taking it to another, more advanced level.”

Not only does having a job help students financially, it prepares them for their futures and lives ahead. Getting a job and working outside of school can be a great benefit, but it is important to always work in moderation.

Infographic by Ashley Kawakami

Hardly working, but still making money

Working for what what you spend or getting it handed over

By Scott Schulze Staff Writer Money does not grow on trees, so where do teens get it?

For many Carlmont students, it is hard to get a job, let alone hold one down during the school year. Other students have never had a job before. This raises the question of where do students get money so they are able to purchase the things they need?

Carlmont senior Aaron Goodwin had a job during the summer, but currently is unemployed. He said he usually pays for things by "using money I made in the past, or with money I got from birthdays. I am also able to get some money from my parents to pay for things like gas or lunch at school."

Goodwin said that he often spends about $25 per week on lunch at school and over $100 on gas each month.

Teenages rarely have major expenses and a consistant income is not necessary for teens to satisfy their wants and needs.

During the school year, teens generally do not have enough time to go shopping because of school, homework, and other miscellaneous after school activities. It definitely

Photos by Veronika Dvorakova

could be done, but not as often as they would hope.

Because of the limited free time of teenages, when they do get the chance to go spend some money, parents may be more lenient than normal on giving their teens money to spend on these rare occasions.

Senior Mason Holman said that even though he typically spends the money that he makes from doing his job, his parents still spot him a few dollars occasionally.

"My parents generally give me money when they drop me off at the golf course or when

they know I'm going out to get food or gas," said Holman.

The rare teen who still gets weekly or monthly allowance for doing chores or following through with sporadic parental requests are pleased when they find themselves with enough money saved up able to purchase things they desire.

Out of Carlmont students surveyed, they said that they spend on average about $20 to $50 dollars on food each month. Whenever students had a higher food cost, they had purchased school lunches everyday.

Students may rely on babysitting, dog walking, and other other periodic jobs for their cash. However, these are not technically considered “jobs” because a work permit is not needed in order for them to be completed.

Work permits may sometimes deter students from trying to get a job. Work permits may not take a long time to fill out, however tracking down their employer to sign the form and finding information like their social security number may take some time. Since students seem to not have enough time as it is, getting these simple boxes completed on the form would be an easy thing that keeps some students from getting a job.

Some students who are not financially supported by their parents find themselves needing to keep a job or two to have a consistent income. This can affect their academic performance due to limited time for studying and homework. It also can break the close bonds between family and friends.

Although everyone wants to have some extra cash to spare here and there, students must ultimately decide if it’s worth it for them to work for it, or is it easier for them to squeeze a few dollars out of their parents here and there.

On a work day, students spend 15 percent less time watching TV, about 10 percent less time playing sports or working out, and about 10 percent less time on homework than the average nonworking student according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Page 5

Features

Taking the first steps: go get a job As a teenager, it may seem difficult to find a job, but follow these six essential steps to achieve success.

By Kat Savin Staff Writer

Work permit

Pick a place to work

If you’re successful after the interview and you get the job, the next step is getting a work permit.

You can get a work permit from the office.

Fill it out, and bring it to E9, Kristine Govani’s room. After, bring it to your new job and you are set to start working.

There are so many different places to work, such as retail stores like Hollister, food industry like Subway, and many more. The choices are endless, but choosing the job that fits the best is the hardest part.

One way to choose where you want to work, is thinking about your future. Maybe you want to be in the fashion industry, so a retail job would probably work best.

That way you have experience with clothing.

During the interview Be courageous and confident.

Get an application The second step to getting a job is getting an application from the place or accessing an online application. Applications usually consist of basic information about yourself, for example; your name, ways to contact you, job experience, and references.

Be sure to fill this out neatly and truthfully. Also, make sure to keep it crease free and fold free. A creased paper shows non professionalism and can also lead the interviewee to believe that you do not care about the job. After submitting your application, follow up. Making a simple phone call, or sending an email can make your chances higher because it shows that you are interested in working for the company.

Infographic by Ashley Kawakami

Submit a resumé Not all jobs require a resumé because many teens do not have a lot of work experience,

although they are a good tool to bring along to an interview, or to submit while applying online. While making your resume, do not be afraid to brag about yourself. This is where you can state all of your achievements, extra curriculars, volunteer work, or past jobs. Brag about yourself, make yourself look better or someone they want to have working at their business.

Shake the manager’s hand, introduce yourself, and give him or her any important materials, like a resumé. Answer all the questions thoroughly and confidently.

Be sure to show your interest in the company and excitement for the job.

Make sure you are using good manners and you are polite. Even if you are unsure of an answer, answer confidently.

The key is staying confident so you can show them that you are the candidate they need to hire.

Avoid “um” and “like” when you are talking, do not talk to the interviewee like a friend.

When you leave, thank the interviewer.

Prepare for an interview First impressions are extremely important on an interview. It is very important to dress nicely. Your outfit portrays who you are and why you would be a good fit for the job. You should look clean and put together. For girls, possibly wearing slacks or a tasteful skirt and top, and for boys, slacks and a nice shirt. Dress for success, as long as your clothes are appropriate and semi-formal you will make a good impression. Also, arrive early. Arriving early shows that you are on task and you really care about the job.

Help wanted: what makes a good job?

By Ashley Kawakami Features Editor Help wanted.

High schoolers have a lot on their plate: school, sports, extracurriculars, and sometimes, a job.

Being a full time student is already hard work, and working part time is hard too, so combined it isn’t an easy feat to successfully tackle both.

A job can impact a student academically as well as socially.

So students need to seriously examine their lives and figure out if working is even a real option for them.

Before students jump head-first into working they should consider what they want to do, what they have time for, and their priorities.

High school students should think about what they want to do not just in the present but also in the future. Having a job that is enjoyable and revolves around something entertaining makes students want to work.

Junior Mackenna Galicia said, “I really like my job because I get to interact with lots of people, especially kids.”

How much time do high school students really have? Students looking at jobs need to take into account the hours and how flexible they are.

Working somewhere with adjustable hours is crucial for a high schoolers to make a job work in conjunction with their school and social lives.

Junior Madison Norman said, “For me, the hours I worked were not as important but being able to choose when I worked was nice because it gave me time for family vacations and other things.”

For people trying to tackle school, jobs, and any other extracurriculars life will be considerably easier if work is scheduled around all the busy parts students have in their lives.

Galicia said, “I don’t work during the week because I usually have a lot of homework, so I end up working Fridays and

Saturdays. To balance everything out before I go to work I try and do some homework so I have less later. This really helps me not get too overwhelmed or stressed out.”

Figuring out priorities and planning before starting to try and juggle all these different things really does have benefits in the long run.

Prioritizing allows students to figure out what comes first and helps lessen the shock when they are hit with an overhaul of work.

Another thing to consider when applying to a job is what influences outside factors influence picking a job that will work.

Working with friends can be a good way to get comfortable with working, however it shouldn’t be the driving force behind getting a job, be confident to step outside of the comfort zone.

Galicia said, “I don’t think it really matters who you work with. It’s nice to already know people but at the same time it’s also nice to meet new people.”

Everyone who works needs a way to get to work, maybe it’s walking, driving, or taking the bus.

Ask anyone who has worked, employers don’t really like late employees, it reflects badly and being late may come at the cost of the job.

Of course students should also consider pay. Most working high schoolers get paid minimum wage, which in California, is now $10.

Students should consider what that money will go towards, will it be saved? Or spent? Or maybe both?

Knowing the wage and knowing what is going to happen to that money helps to enforce what money is actually being made and to make sure it doesn’t disappear too quickly.

Norman said, “I just used my paycheck to buy food and buy gas for my car. I wasn’t saving for anything specific.”

Hard work does reap benefits but what is the cost?

Infographic by Ashley Kawakami

Some things to consider before you get a job

Page 6

Teenage B

Thinspiration: the social media diet 1 weird tip to lose weight

By Shira Stein Scot Scoop Editor-In-Chief

“I will be looking through magazines and wishing that I looked like those people. At some points I will go to any length, whether it is starving myself or anything to get to that point,” said junior Hailey Crosby.

The reality is that society causes people to question their confidence in their body image, however, online blogs today are helping to encourage certain unhealthy

behaviors.

One of the prominent problems that teenagers face is of their self-esteem.

Some try to exercise and eat healthier, some try to ignore it, and some turn to “thinspiration” and fitness blogs.

These blogs are a community of people who can instigate eating disorders in teenagers.

Shelley Bustamante, Students Offering Support (S.O.S) coordinator and crisis counselor said, “[Thinspiration and fitness blogs] are triggering more eating disorders because of the

anonymous comments that people have heard about their physical appearance and weight.”

The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) has stated that in the United States alone, eight million people have some sort of eating disorder.

At Carlmont, S.O.S has a program called Mirror Mirror, which educates freshman about eating disorders and their prevention in the Life Skills classes.

Crosby, president of Mirror Mirror, said, “[Social Media] has a huge effect on teenager’s body image. You see all these models who are stick thin and it is not sending off the proper image. It is not healthy to be at that weight.”

Many popular social media websites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Yahoo, and Pinterest have worked to keep their websites clear of pro-eating disorder related materials, but websites such as Tumblr still have problems doing so.

According to a 2006 survey,

around 58 percent of these groups take care to conceal their true purposes.

Some of these groups do have good intentions, such as the fitness blogs that work to motivate each other to eat healthy, exercise proper amounts, and be fit.

Senior Jannah Perry said, “[I run a blog] so that I can live a healthier lifestyle. I struggled with body image a lot of my life, so I have one and use it for support.”

Even with good intentions, the problem is not entirely because of fitness blogs.

Although those that do have the possibility of exacerbating or causing an eating disorder, it is mainly the ones that advocate eating disorders as a healthy lifestyle.

Bustamante said, “We have to do more with this topic because we are seeing more of it, and it permeates every aspect of their lives. There needs to be more in-depth training for parents so they can realize how their comments and interactions with their teens will affect them.”

A study conducted by The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Defining the ideal male image

By Dominic Gialdini Entertainment Editor Struggling with body image is something that only superficial girls deal with, right? Wrong.

Although females are the primary demographic that suffer from negative body image, there is a percentage of men who also dislike the way they perceive themselves.

S.O.S Coordinator and Crisis Counselor Shelley Bustamante and said, “Last week I had to deal with a boy who suffers from body image problems. He was being bullied and called fat. He ended up starving himself and going to the hospital because he had low blood pressure and collapsed.”

According to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, many factors including age, ethnicity, exposure to the media and sexual orientation contribute to a male’s approval or disapproval for the way he looks. However, the primary concerns for the way men feel about how they look arise from weight and the amount of muscle that they have.

Junior Carlos Rama said,

“I used to be really, really fat. I’m still kind of chubby and I’m not happy with myself.”

Body image issues can easily be caused when someone is given a hard time for the way they look, like in Rama’s case. He said, “In middle school, I used to get bullied a lot.

During PE, people used to shout at me, ‘run fat boy, run.’ It bothered me a lot. I still care about what people think of me - I know I shouldn’t, but I do.”

Some go to drastic measures while attempting to obtain their ideal body. According to Purdue University, about 30 percent of men and boys suffer from either anorexia or bulimia.

Rama said, “To lose weight, I would run a mile a day and stop eating except for little bites of food. Even though I don’t eat enough

for the recommended calorie intake for a guy my age, I never take the time to worry about my physical health.”

Sufferers of negative body image can be aware of their condition, but they are unable to control it despite their belief that it is illogical.

Rama said, “Physical being shouldn’t have anything to do with emotional happiness.

People need to figure out how to control our lack of approval for the way we look because, in the end, it doesn’t matter

how someone looks.”

Athletes tend to be more prone to scrutinizing their bodies than the average person. Bustamante said, “Sports that require maintaining a certain weight, like gymnastics or wrestling, can cause issues that lead to body image problems.”

However, not all

athletes are concerned about body image.

Senior Nikola Kapamadzin, a water polo player, said, “I don’t try to change anything about how I look nor do I feel any sort of pressure to look a certain way.”

Some male athletes at Carlmont put forth a conscious effort to gain muscle mass, but not for reasons due to vanity. They see becoming stronger as essential in order to be the best that they can at their sport.

Kapamadzin said, “Strength is an important aspect in contact sports. You won’t be able to hold up in a game against an elite team if you aren’t physically strong enough.”

For those who suffer from body image issues, the question of whether they will ever be satisfied with themselves

lingers on.

“Even if I do get a perfectly chiseled body,” said Rama, “what if I’m still not happy? What do I do then?”

suggests that only one-third of eating disorders are not properly diagnosed and treated.

The cause of eating disorders depends on the person and the opinion of the person being asked, but Bustamante states her profes-

sional opinion.

“So much of eating disorders is about self-esteem, wanting control in a chaotic environment, and wanting to be perfect. It is one of the hardest things to treat, so it is good to nip it in the bud quickly,” said Bustamante.

84% of sites that promote eating disorders feature thinspiration *According to a 2010 survey by American Journal of Public Health

“Nothing tastes as go

Body Image

Page 7

Is all the juicing worth the weight?

By Karissa Tom News and Opinion Editor Quick. Easy. Simple.

These words are used to convince dieters that this is the new diet to test out. It is no different for a rising dieting fad known as “juic-

ing.”

“Juicing” is mixing the juices of both fruits and vegetables to drink. The idea is that a person could get all of their nutrients by drinking their daily servings of fruit

ood as thin feels.”

-Kate Moss

Photo Illustrations by Isabella Paragas and Sabrina Leung

and vegetables.

Although some people use juicing as a supplementary snack, others use it as a weight loss method.

The most common juicing weight loss plans last for around 30 days.

By using juicing as a cleanse, the body would be cleared of toxins.

According to WebMD, Manuel Villacorta, an Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesman and the founder of Eating Free, a weight management program, said, “I haven’t seen any research or science paper to support that cleansing is happening from juicing.”

Unlike smoothies, juicing takes the nutrients from the fruit and leaves out the fiber, thus allowing one to get more nutrients.

According to Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), although juicing can lose the benefit of consuming fiber, it helps the digestive system absorb the nutrients.

People can purchase a juicer that can cost anywhere from $50 to $2,500. However, juicers can be a hassle to clean because the leftover pulp can be frustrating to get out of the blades.

With juicing at home, people

have the benefit of controlling what goes in their body.

Senior Camille Gerolimits said, “Making your own juice is good because you know how much sugar is in it. It is a healthy alternative to regular juice because you can control how much sugar goes in it.”

With the fad growing more and more popular, new companies have been popping up with detoxifying and purifying juices. It has inspired the development of juicing companies like Juice Press, Ritual Cleanse and Pressed Juicery. These juicing companies sell what people would otherwise make at home. Most of these companies sell juice bottles that can cost up to $12 each.

The No Meat Athlete website noted that juicing can tend to be expensive because “it takes a lot of produce to squeeze out enough juice to make a meal.”

In the early 1990s, juicing became popular due to its claim that it could reverse

aging and chronic diseases such as cancer according to Cancer.org.

The trend was not only spread by celebrities but also by the release of the documentary called “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.” The 2010 documentary features Joe Cross, a 310-pound man on a mission to drink only fruit and vegetables for the next 60 days. Under the guidance of doctors, Cross was able to stop using

his medication and inspire others on a road trip. Junior Erin Lucett said that the movie made her change her mind about juicing and she now saw it as a way to get nutrients.

Juicing has also been encouraged throughout many websites such as Pinterest and Tumblr. On these websites, people can find juicing “challenges” and recipes, as it has become a popular way to gain vitamins and nutrients.

Mind the thigh gap

The skinny on beauty

By Grace Yi Staff Writer

By Arianna Bayangos

After seeing many models with toned and thigh-gapped legs strut down the runway, and after seeing many posts on Tumblr over the thigh gaps, “Alisa” realized that a thigh gap craze has arisen.

“Alisa” felt burdened at the sight of her own nonexistent thigh gap and started on a strict diet: one small portion of food every day.

This dieting strategy has concerned parents and doctors over the teenager’s health.

S.O.S Coordinator and Crisis Counselor Shelley Bustamante said, “Students need a stamp of approval that says, ‘Yes you look good with that,’ because students feel like they need a model to show them who they should be.”

Posts on thigh gaps have become increasingly evident on Tumblr and other social networking sites. These pictures have motivated some social networking users to diet and starve themselves to lose large amounts of weight in order to achieve the thigh gap.

Victoria Secret trainer Matt Townsend tweeted that thigh gaps can be achieved with daily exercise targeted to the inner thighs muscles. He said one must do 12 to 15 reps of each exercise workout which includes squats, single-leg romanian deadlift, glute bridge with medicine ball between the knees, lateral lunge and a wall squat with medicine ball

between the knees.

At times, instead of wanting a thigh gap, some students strived to keep a thigh gap.

Junior Chelsy Sesma said, “My thigh gap makes me feel better about myself on and off the [soccer and water polo] field. It’s a visual representation of how I care about my body.”

However, to some students, a thigh gap is not the a priority or even a motivational cause for a great body.

Senior Kristen Dames said, “That ‘gap’ is not something that can be achieved by working out. It’s a natural spacing of your legs, wide hips, and an extreme lack of thigh width that create it.

When I put my knees together, my thighs touch because that is what my legs are meant to do.”

Although many girls believe that the only way to get an inner thigh gap is to starve themselves, workouts that target the inner thighs are a better, more productive and have promising results.

“If you’re comfortable with yourself then it shouldn’t matter,” said junior Morgan Manter.

News and Opinion Editor “My body is too big.”

Carlmont senior Alexis Wilson thought this phrases to herself as she flipped through magazines full of pictures of celebrities and the ideal body to strive for. After repeatedly seeing one image of a perfect body, her perception of her body changed.

Wilson said, “I felt that I needed to live up to the media’s expectations and obtain a certain figure: skinny, no curves, and tall. I thought not eating, and exercising everyday was normal,” added Wilson.

Wilson, like many other teenage girls, feel pressured by society’s expectations about their body.

Glamour magazine encouraged women to note every negative thought about their body. Ninety-seven percent of women who participated in this activity had at least one moment when they hated their body.

Ann Kearney-Cooke, a psychologist who specializes in body image, believes that it has become a norm to put one’s body down.

Peer pressure is one of the factors that alter a girl’s perception of her body. When girls scroll through Tumblr and flip through magazines, they often see pictures of thigh gaps and collar bones sticking out.

Emily Rudger, a junior said, “Comments from other people saying that they [thigh gaps and collar bones] look good might make them feel like they need to look like that.”

Many girls are driven to change themselves in order to seek approval from their peers.

They feel motivated by compliments from other girls in order to feel accepted.

In addition to approval from others, some people believe that negative comments and insults can also cause insecurity towards a girl’s body.

Salzman said, “Healthiness isn’t dependent on the way you look, but that is the only way to show others that you are.”

S.O.S Coordinator and Crisis Counselor, Shelley Bustamante said that a group of teenagers trying to achieve a thigh gap can influence the whole nation through social media and word of mouth. She noted that teenagers have the power to spread acceptance of all body types.

“You can change the world for good and for better so it depends what comes out of your mouth and how you live

your life,” Bustamante said.

Page 8

Entertainment

Girls gone wild: Disney edition And they can’t stop, and they won’t stop

By Sarah Klieves Scotscoop Editor-In-Chief Now more than ever, teenagers are finding that their favorite stars are disappearing. The star they’d watch on their favorite Disney Channel show, or in their favorite movie.

Where did they go?

Some of them might have continued on in life with successful careers, others might have had their fifteen minutes of fame and settled down to raise a family. And then there are those who went wild.

Recently, Miley Cyrus’ latest music video for her song “Wrecking Ball” has sparked a lot of conversations, in addition to those that had already started as a result of her Video Music Awards (VMA) performance. However, she isn’t the only star getting negative publicity.

Carlmont senior Lorenzo Fuentes said although stars like Cyrus, Lindsay Lohan, and Amanda Bynes may have “crazy attitudes, they are trendsetters.”

Fuentes continued, “They are role models because they are close to our age. When they do something different or wacky, we see it as ‘cool’ and do it, too.”

Only a few stars end up like these ones, while many others continue on to have successful careers or quietly slip out of the limelight to live a “normal” life. There can be countless causes for this.

Obviously, drugs and alcohol come straight to mind as a cause of this downward spiral.

In a poll of Carlmont students, 39 percent believe that the difficult transition out of childhood stardom is the main cause of many celebrities’ downward spiral.

Carlmont junior Catherine Schulze said

Cartoon by Isabella Paragas Bynes is a celebrity she used to look up to but no longer does. Schulze said that because Bynes “turned to drugs and destroyed her image,” it is difficult to still view her as a role model.

Some might argue that all publicity is good publicity. However, for many celebrities in the limelight, having their young fans see their drunken actions and rash decisions does not make them a great role model.

Schulze said she finds it to be “entertaining to see [celebrities] completely ruin their image and fan base because they made lousy choices” because of how fans “freak out about [the celebrities’] choices as if it affected them

personally.”

Fuentes said that “everyone is different,” and therefore their opinions of stars are different, making it difficult for him to comment on the issue of fan reactions.

Younger fans and their parents have cause to be concerned as well. Schulze said that in regard to the choices these stars have made, there’s nothing that should have been done to prevent their wild actions.

“They need to find it in themselves to make good choices and be role models instead of turning to drugs,” stated Schulze.

“Nothing could have been done to prevent their actions,” said Fuentes. “They are igno-

rant and young. They always find loopholes or just break the rules.”

Nobody knows if stars that have gone this far over the deep end are capable of a comeback or at least of getting themselves back to some level of normalcy. They also should consider if their fans even want to see them successful again.

Learning from the mistakes of people before you is a great advantage that younger, rising stars have. They can take these things into consideration when making choices, and, hopefully, choose to take a different route in life.

‘Rock the Bells’ rings in 10 years John Russell Staff Writer

Something’s going right when the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

If music is nothing else, it is to make you feel something, anything. When it’s coming out at a volume that leaves your ears ringing the next morning, you can’t help but get wrapped up in the moment.

The “Rock the Bells” festival has been bringing this experience to Bay Area concert-goers for a decade now, as the festival celebrated its tenth anniversary at this year’s two day show in Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, the second stop on a multicity U.S. tour.

Headliners like Wu Tang Clan and Black Hippy, as well as highly publicized performances by holograms of legends like Eazy E and ODB took the headlines, but it was the smaller names like Tyler, the Creator and his Odd Future cohorts, Earl Sweatshirt, Danny Brown and Iamsu that really got the Bay Area on its feet.

These smaller names, while less recognizable in the mainstream, thrive on the shifting sands of hip hop, and of all music. As the

“mainstream,” as we think of it, continues its artistic decline, more and more artists have eschewed tested formulas for crossover success in favor of maintaining the indie buzz that the ecosystem of hungry, passionate fans and bloggers prop up solely with their love of music and connecting with each other.

It was Tyler, Earl, Danny Brown, Big K.R.I.T, and Juicy J that saw the most ravenous and devoted crowds, with fans rapping back every verse verbatim. The crowds were younger, smartphone-clad and well versed in the culture and lexicon that pervaded the entire festival. As diverse as the fans were, the common thread that tied these smaller sets together was the passion and connection these young people had to the artists before them. Especially with Earl and Tyler, the line between peer and idol seemed to blur.

This was particularly true for Carlmont senior Amelia Tupou, a long time Odd Future fan and general music nerd.

Tupou said, “They’re like us, they go on the internet and talk about stuff they like and take photos and think about things the way we do. It’s so different than any other time in music because we live in a time where we are beyond connected at all times. We can bridge

the gap pretty easily.”

Tyler and Earl exemplify the festival’s forward thinking and willingness to embrace the avant-garde fringes of a culture that has reinvented itself more times than most others.

Perhaps even better examples of this willingness to stray from convention were the sets of electronic dance music (EDM) artists like Chase & Status, MiMosa and Girl Talk.

All three sets would struggle to be described as “hip hop,” but brought to the festival the undeniable energy of the rapidly expanding EDM scene. Increasingly, the boundaries between the two genres have blurred, especially with the advent of “trap,” the lovechild of Southern hip hop sounds and EDM production.

Tupou, who was front row at the “Chase and Status” set said, “It was probably the best set after Tyler’s. It was insane. There aren’t that many words that’ll do it justice.”

Even headlining artist Girl Talk, who spent the entirety of his set behind a laptop enshrined in a nest of lights and speakers, closed his set with a shout out to the Rock the Bells staff for, “trying something new,” by letting EDM artists take part in a festival dominated by traditional hip hop acts.

Photo by Kellan McDonough

Even as Rock the Bells closes a decade of bringing the finest in hip hop to the stage together, it has not lost its sense for innovation, and reinvention.

Ten years young, and here’s to ten more.

Entertainment Addiction at the hands of your remote

Page 9

It’s 1:34 a.m., and I’ve spent the last four hours watching “Breaking Bad” on Netflix.

Why? Netflix.com is an addicting website. It’s basically a treasure chest of unlimited TV and movies.

Although not always Oscar winners, Netflix entertainment proves to be the most dramatic, comical and enchanting distraction put out on the internet.

Senior Charlotte Jackman said, "After school I go home and watch ‘Skins UK’ on Netflix instant streaming. It's awesome. Netflix has every season of some of the best shows."

Established in 1997 in Los Gatos, Calif., Netflix started out as a DVD franchise. Since then it has become an instant streaming sensation.

With the “Instant Queue,” one can watch TV or movies anytime, on

the go or at home.

Netflix isn’t free. It’s $7.99 per month for instant streaming. Prices go up if one wants DVDs delivered to their house. Compared to paying for individual movies, this is really cheap.

According to Yahoo! News, this past June, Netflix reached 37.6 million subscribers. The numbers continue to increase as more and more people see the appeal of instant entertainment.

Netflix also reached a significant rise in stock. Over the last six months, its earnings have increased on average by 60 percent.

Netflix includes all seasons of some of the most popular comedies like “The Office,” “30 Rock” and “How I Met Your Mother.”

It has dramas like “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men” and reality like “Keeping up with the Kardashians” and “The Hills.” It has an extensive selection of movies ranging from

Disney’s “Hercules” to “Star Trek.”

Netflix has even created its own shows like “Orange is the New Black” and “House of Cards.” It also funded “Arrested Development “for their most recent season.

Senior Isabella Sziraczky commented, “I like ‘Orange is the New Black,’ ‘The League,’ ‘30 Rock’ and ‘Arrested Development.’ I spend more time on Netflix if a new season of a show I watched is out or if I’m bored, then I just watch random movies.”

Netflix had a five year deal to stream movies from companies like Paramount and MGM due to a contract with Starz Play. In 2012, this contract ended. Netflix lost around 2,000 movies as a result.

Since then, however, Netflix has signed other contracts with studios or distributors, enabling them to stream shows and movies online.

These licenses to stream content have an expiration date and that is

why some movies or TV leave Netflix after a certain amount of time. Netflix can renew the contract, keeping shows or movies online for awhile.

Netflix is successful for a simple reason; it brings the public the shows they love in a matter of seconds for a reasonable price.

Sziraczky said, “Netflix never fails. And it remembers where you left off and it remembers your favorite shows.”

Today’s media is all available instantly. People will pay quickly if

Infographic by Kristen Friis entertainment is at the tip of their fingertips. Netflix took that idea to create a multi-million dollar company.

Saving money at the expense of the theaters

By Kristen Friis Staff Writer “I don't even go to the movies anymore,” said junior Alenna Winfield. “It's just way too expensive.”

In today's economy, people monitor their spending cautiously. Some teenagers don’t even have any money to spend at all.

So why do people spend $10.50 on a movie ticket for a show that’s only about two hours long? Not only that, but the concessions are usually an extra five to seven dollars.

“The movies are a fun way to hang out with all of your friends,” said junior Emma Lin. “But the tickets and concessions together are ridiculously expensive.”

Teenagers in general don't have much spending money unless they have some sort of job or their parents give them allowance.

Either a supermarket bagger or a babysitter, the average minimum wage a teenager gets from working is about eight dollars an hour.

One hour of working can't even get you one movie ticket.

“It really stinks because the only way to get a decent priced movie ticket is to go in the morning or the afternoon, which no one really does,” said sophomore Claudia Meza.

“That is why I just use those movie passes that you can buy at Costco because they are cheaper.”

Movie tickets are even more for double features and 3D movies as well.

“The 3D movie prices are crazy,” said senior Joseph Hamdun. “Fifteen dollars for a 3D

movie is insane.”

According to the National Association of Theatre Owners, movie ticket prices have increased about 13 percent since 2007.

This has led to many problems, and for some people one of the only solutions is to break the law.

One of these problems is movie hopping.

Movie hopping is when you pay for only one movie ticket, but stay in the theater area and watch other movies that are playing.

"I have friends and I know people who movie hop all the time," said Winfield. "I think they do because it is not only easier but cheaper than paying for another movie."

Movie hopping is not the only issue, but illegally downloading and watching movies online is another common one.

“I think a lot of people illegally download

movies because it is free rather than paying so much money,” said Meza.

“Personally I would rather use Hulu or Netflix.”

“I illegally download movies all the time,” said a male senior. “It is so easy to just type it into Google and find the movie you want, plus it is free.”

According to newmediarights.org, consequences for illegally downloading can be as minor as a computer virus to a serious lawsuit.

Overall, with movie ticket prices rising, it leaves many people with nothing else to do but try to find a way to watch movies for less money, maybe even none at all. Until this problem is fixed, illegally downloading and movie hopping will continue to happen.

Image used with Creative Commons license

By Kellan McDonough Sports Editor

‘The Laramie Project’ coming soon to Carlmont

By Tara Ebrahimpour Staff Writer This fall, Carlmont’s drama department will put on a rendition of the thought-provoking drama, “The Laramie Project.”

Drama teacher Nancy Martin said she chose this play because “it is a challenge for the actors. It is an opportunity for them [the students] to play a variety of characters.”

“I wanted to do something serious. We had done comedies for the last three years and wanted to try something different,” she added.

The play is about gay college student, Matthew Shepard, who gets tortured, tied to a fence and left to die. The murder, which constituted as a hate crime, brought much attention to the fact that many states don’t have hate crime laws.

It was written by Moises Kaufman and was first performed by the Tectonic Theater Project. “The Laramie Project” has been considered controversial by some people, yet it has been

performed by high schools and colleges across the country and internationally and on the professional level in countries such as the United States, Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, according to und.edu.com.

Out of the 32 students who auditioned, 20 got parts in the play. To audition, students were required to perform a one to two minute serious and dramatic monologue.

To make casting easier, Martin held callbacks. A callback is a second audition where an actor is usually placed in a certain role to see if they fit that role.

“I will put people in different roles to see who fits the part better. Callbacks are a really important part of the audition process,” said Martin.

The play includes 60 characters, so each cast member has at least two parts. It is performed in three acts, and broken down into short scenes.

Senior Zoe Chien, a drama student, said, “I fell in love with two characters, Catherine Connolly and Sherry Johnson,

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so I was really excited to find out I’d be playing both of them.”

“It’s especially interesting because in the play, Catherine is a lesbian, and Sherry is not accepting of the gay lifestyle. I love how I’m playing contrasting characters. I’m most excited to use this play to raise awareness of LGBT issues.”

Sophomore Claire Gonzalez said, “I think ‘The Laramie Project’ portrays such an important message about society and acceptance that it will leave such a big impact on everyone who is apart of it and those who will see it. I’m excited because I get to be a part of that.”

The rehearsals started mid-September, immediately after the cast list was determined. They will rehearse four days a week, two hours each day, for eight weeks until their performances in mid-November.

The show has two student assistant directors and a studentrun tech crew. In addition, the actors will do much of the scene changes. The show will run in the intimate setting of black box theatre, which can seat up to 80 people.

Extras

Page 10

Overcrowded classrooms concerns from pg 1 District changes from pg 1

a workload of not more than 80 for English teachers. This affects class discussions because not everyone may have the chance to participate,” said Hill.

Others have found having larger classes to be more beneficial because it allows for diverse group discussions.

“It’s cool to hear what other students think. With more students in a class, I can sometimes even get away with not participating in discussions,” said sophomore Cameron Kuo. In contrast, some students have noticed a sudden decrease in class size. Senior Paola Combria stated that she has three students enrolled in her AP Studio Art class.

“The smaller class size fits my personality better and my peers like it because my teacher now has more time to critique the others,” said Combria.

However, the various studentteacher ratio present at Carlmont is no surprise to the administration.

This year, Carlmont has a student population of 2164 students, compared to 2129 from the 2012-2013 school year.

Instructional Vice Principal Ralph Crame explained that class sizes are based on the amount of funding the school receives. Crame added that some classes had too many students enrolled in it, which caused the school to either close it or place more students into one class.

“Mastering scheduling is a complex puzzle because we have so many sections to offer and if we

“With a large class size, it can sometimes restrict creativity and personalization.” ~Karen Ramroth, history teacher~

run out of sections that the district can pay for, then we have to look for funding elsewhere. There’s a formula that dictates how many teachers we can hire based on the number of students we have. I look at the whole master schedule and see which classes are small so I can collapse sections together,” said Crame.

According to Crame, this funding comes from the Carlmont Academic Foundation(CAF) or Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), who then works with the principal to decide how to allocate the money.

Carlmont is not the only school in the state facing this dilemma.

California has had the nation’s highest student-to-teacher ratio since fall 2010, with an average of 23.6-to-1 ratio in public schools, according to the report Rankings and Estimates 2011-2012 by the National Education Association (NEA). Compared to the national of average of 15.5, California exceeds this number by 35 percent. This may cause California students to be denied the same level of student teacher contact and individual attention as most students receive in other states.

“With a large class size, it can sometimes restrict creativity and personalization,” added Ramroth.

In 1996, California launched its most expensive school reform by reducing class sizes to 20 students

in the earliest grades. The state has spent more than $25 billion on keeping class sizes low.

With the state’s new voter-approved tax hikes, California schools could see a 24 percent funding spike over the next four years, according to Gov. Jerry Brown’s 20132014 budget.

But students may have to live with cramped classrooms a while longer. Brown proposed to allow districts to maintain larger class sizes for the time being. He does not propose returning to the former 20 student cap, but focus instead on directing money to districts with low-income students and English learners.

Over the next few years, Crame stated that if the number of enrollment in advanced classes continue to increase, Carlmont would start implementing new practices and policies. Seniors would receive class choice priority to fulfill graduation and college requirements. Students would also have to meet the A-G requirements for the UCs before taking more electives.

As the school continues to work out its budget policy, one way students can help support and lower their class sizes is by encouraging their families to donate money.

“If we continued to get more funding through the PTSA or CAF, it would increase the support. We wouldn’t have to limit class sections and be able keep lower class sizes to hire more teachers and offer more classes. We want to give our students choices and what they want whenever we can,” said Crame.

Repositioning of students started in the 1980s, after East Palo Alto’s high school closed because of declining enrollment and deteriorating facilities. Since then, district officials decided to distribute Ravenswood graduates among the four high schools.

The proposed move would end the long daily journey that students make on a daily basis.

In July, the Bay Area chapter of the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights released an analysis saying that the District’s assignment

Photo by Karenna Meredith

system fails East Palo Alto students, who are suffering physically, socially and emotionally for having to commute long distances in order to get to school.

During the Sept. 25 meeting, the board also considered altering the boundaries for middle schools, in order to allow all students attending Tierra Linda Middle School in San Carlos to move onto Carlmont.

About two-thirds already do, said Lianides.

All of these new proposed attendance boundaries could be critical for the future of the Sequoia district, as it is projected to be responsible for upwards of 10,000 students in 2020.

Lianides also said the board may pursue a facilities construction bond next June to add classrooms and facilities to the District’s high school campuses and possibly build one or two specialized high schools for students in need.

It remains to be seen if any of these proposed moves come to fruition, but it is clear that the district is striving to make decisions with it’s student’s best interests in mind.

Dress Code from pg 1

anybody on that,” said Gleaton.

Societal norms of what is and is not appropriate for school are extensive; the dress code is there simply to inform students of what is not appropriate.

“Kids want to push the limits,” said Pang, “as a generation we do go against our elders wishes, we try to

rebel in different ways and clothing is one of them.”

This generational divide has and will always exist, but in some respects pushing the limits to an extreme is not necessary.

“Be within this giant range of acceptable clothes for school- thats all,” said Gleaton.

Sports

Page 11

By Jessica Adair Staff Writer

If you were to describe former olympian Bernice O’Connor’s 2013 varsity girls water polo team in one word, it would be intense.

“The team is very competitive and focused, but in a good way. We have learned so much already and we’re going to make it farther than last year,” said Kirra Loucks, a junior and second-year varsity goalie.

Thirteen years go, O’Connor competed 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. That summer she won a silver medal as the goalie for the United States of America.

Now she has come to Carlmont to coach the varsity girls water polo team and hopefully lead them to a successful season.

“My family and I moved here in October last year. I had just finished a coaching job in southern California and I was planning on being a stay-at-home mom. My friend who works at Castilleja told me about the job opening at Carl-

mont and I agreed to talk to Patrick Smith, the athletic director. It just seemed like the right fit and I have no regrets,” said O’Connor.

O’Connor shed light on her experiences from her time in Australia and applies them to her coaching style, “It’s all about patience and control. When I was a goalie, there are times when I just wanted everything to just hurry up and happen.

But you just need to take it slow and control your mindset.”

The season has just begun and O’Connor has already made changes that have proven to be extremely beneficial.

“We have doubled our practice sessions. They are now at five in the morning and after school as well.

These practices are also more organized and planned out. We focus on one thing every day and the whole practice is centered around it,” said Loucks.

Lauren Racioppi, a first year varsity junior, also enjoys playing for O'Connor.

"She has really made this experience enjoyable. We are constantly working hard and learning new things. I like her as a coach, as well as a person," said Racioppi.

O’Connor also possesses a coaching style very different to what the team experienced last year.

“I am a fundamental-based coach. That is what most of our practices are based on. I also value work ethic and a strong character, not just in water polo, but in anyKatelyn McGrath passes a ball against Burlingame in the Scots’ 7-5 loss. where in life,” said O’Connor.

As well as ramping up the prac“I wish that I could have had her work hard, they’re extremely polite, tices, O’Connor has also connected as a coach when I was a freshman. and very fun to work with,” said to the girls on a personal level.

Freshman coming onto the team O’Connor.

“She really understands what it’s usually don’t have as much experiEven though O’Connor can relike to be where we are right now. late to the girls, she still maintains a ence because they haven't played at She’s been through it and she gets this level. But they are learning so tough demeanor when she coaches. it. She also knows how to get us much already," said Loucks.

“She really doesn’t mess around. to the next level because she’s been O’Connor said, “I really don’t There isn’t a lot of socializing at our there as well,” said Loucks. pay attention to the other team’s practices and therefore we can get The connection is mutual, as game. Our game plan doesn’t more stuff done,” said Loucks. the students are one of O’Connors change regardless of who we’re While varsity teams are usually favorite aspects of coaching at playing. All that matters is that I see made up of mostly upperclassmen, Carlmont.

O’Connor’s coaching style pertains improvement in the team, if that “I love the students. They all happens, our record will show it.” to all levels.

Cross Country trains year-round to maintain an edge For the past decade, there has arguably been one sports team at Carlmont High School that has excelled in competitions more than any team — the men’s varsity cross country team.

According to CSN Bay Area, a sports network that covers a variety of sporting topics in the bay area, Carlmont’s mens cross country has won seven of the last eight CCS championships, winning five straight from 2005 to 2009, 2011, and 2012.

This year, the varsity team is comprised of seven athletes, including juniors Mark Vingralek, Michael Bereket, Owen Lee, and Johain Ounadjela, along with seniors Ryan Dimick, James Schulte, and Brandon Whiteley.

However, even though the men’s varsity team has established a winning legacy at Carlmont High School, it does not mean that they will be guaranteed victory this upcoming season.

Ounadjela said, "We are a really talented group, but if we just relied on our talents, we wouldn't be nearly as good."

To excel at such a competitive level, Carlmont's cross country team has to train year-round, not just when season starts. Therefore, the varsity team starts training very hard in the summer by themselves.

Regarding the offseason training, Vingralek stated, “(The

Photo by Grace Yi

By Daniel Wang Staff Writer

varsity cross country team) would usually do like 60 miles a week during the summer and we would meet up for practice every day. Also, we might do a few races during the summer just to see where we are at.”

Once the season starts, the varsity team trains alongside the rest of the cross country team in daily practices led by the cross country coach, Al Schmidt.

According to Schmidt, “My training routine for these runners consists of an intense run Monday, weight room training

Tuesday, league meets Wednesday, a slow long distance run Thursday, and an easy day Friday.”

With all the training for these athletes, the cross country team has positioned themselves to be in a prime position to win CCS. Yet, there is one particular obstacle that could potentially affect the reigning CCS champions — the coaching change.

Last year, coach Jennifer Randazzo led the team to a CCS championship. However, this year there’s a new face leading the varsity athletes in coach Schmidt. Although Schmidt has coached the Carlmont track team for 15 years and counting, this is his first year leading the cross country team.

On this issue, Schmidt said, “There have been quite a few coaching changes in the past few years, but I don’t think it’s going to be too much of a problem for the runners… But all of these boys were on the track team, and I’ve been coaching track for the past 15 years.”

Having already become relatively accustomed to this group of athletes, Schmidt has high hopes for the varsity team. “We lost people due to graduation… but I think the boy’s varsity team should be able to win CCS like they do every year.”

Along with Schmidt, the cross country runners also feel very confident for this year’s cross country season.

Dimick said, “My predictions for this season are for the team to win CCS again and for myself to be top three (in CCS).”

New roster and coach bring high hopes for football

By Conrad May Staff Writer

Coming off a one win season, Carlmont has very high hopes for the new season.

In their first game, the Scots beat Yerba Buena on the road 17-6.

Senior Arian Tabaroj said, “We came to play more as a family than a team.”

Although the first win of the season is always a big one, last year the Scots won the first game but lost every game after that.

With high hopes to continue solid play until mid November when the Scots take on Sequoia for their final game, many players are

Photo by Kat Savin

excited to turn the program around.

Senior Tristan Gasperian said, “We worked a lot harder this season. We all have the drive to win and we we have great team chemistry.

This year we are a family and will only settle for perfection.”

Gasperian didn’t settle for anything less than perfect in the proceeding game against Gunn as he intercepted the ball late in the fourth quarter on the eight yard line, which set up for a go ahead touchdown in a 13-7 victory for the Scots.

Tabaroj said, “If we continue to put as much as we have into every game, like we did against Yerba Buena and Gunn, I think it

is safe to say that this will be a season full of victories.”

The team looks to continue the win streak, something that they could not do last season.

The Scots have already won more games, with eight games still to play.

Although the team lost many key players from last year, they have gained talent from the previous JV team, who won their division.

Not only did the varsity team get some very key players from last year’s JV team, but they also got the coach.

Marcus Farhad moved up to varsity after proving his abilities in JV, and he is yet to lose in varsity.

Gasperian commented, “The new coaching staff prepares us for every game. They are never negative and always have our back.”

The Scots believe that they are almost an entirely different team from last year, as they have a stronger work ethic, new players, and a new coaching staff.

The Scots then traveled to Homestead, I which they fell short losing 23-19.

Gasperian said, "I'm really not that worried since that will be one of the hardest games all year. Homestead is a whole division above us."

Although the Scots are only three games

into the season, it looks as if the Scots are a completely different team, but only time can tell.

With a bright season to look forward to, the Scots hope to continue to improve.

Free one hour consultation for Scots families! kristen@rudgerlandscapes.com Visit us on Facebook facebook.com/KristenRudgerLandscapes

Photo by Kian Karamdashti

New former olympian water polo coach makes a splash

Fall Sports

Page 12

Photos by Kat Savin

Sports is motion. These Scots splash, sprint, and strike to get the win.

Photos by Grace Yi

Nicky Thompson lines up the ball carrier, positions himself properly, and executes a tackle against Gunn.

Photos by Veronika Dvorakova

Maxwell Dobson has to elevate himself out of the water in order to pass the ball to a teammate against Woodside.

Cori Sidell tosses the ball up into the air, rotates her hips, and fires a shot across the net.

Varsity underclassmen contribute to team chemistry

By Reggie Chatman Jr Staff Writer It is no secret that when you play alongside someone for a long time, the chemistry between the players will be much better. This chemistry usually translates to better play on the floor.

The varsity, frosh-soph system that most schools use for sports allows athletes to play alongside players in the same grade for long but rotates other players around them every year. The varsity volleyball team at Carlmont seems to have found a way to have better players together for longer.

“There are a lot of factors that go into it. The players level of skill is obviously important. If they are confident and ready enough for it mentally and psychologically,” said varsity head coach Chris Crader.”I think that the girls that have been on varsity for two or three years, coming back as seniors, they know what to expect and so those people are more qualified to lead.”

Elena Mateus, Erin Alonso, Amelia Tupou, Charlotte Jackman and Kellan McDonough. These five names all have something in common, playing on varsity as an underclassmen. Because of the move to varsity, they have been exposed to playing with the same players for longer and to the speed and intensity of varsity level volleyball.

“When I first got on the team, everyone just clicked. We are actually really close. I could go to their house and still have a really good time,” said sophomore Erin Alonso,”[Playing with the same people] helps a lot. When you play with new people, you aren’t really sure how they play so you can’t work together well. It also brings more energy to the floor.”

“If you and I hung out a lot and I know what you’re going to say before you say it and you know what I’m going to do before I do it, we’ll work together a lot better on the court,” said Crader.

Freshman-sophomore teams in all sports consist of only underclassmen. These “frosh-soph” teams are used as training for varsity. A two year time to grow, and refine your skills in an sport. To be an underclassmen on varsity is almost unheard of, but when it happens, they just might bring a little extra to the squad.

“Obviously they bring a lot of talent otherwise they wouldn’t be on varsity. They also bring a lot of energy and ‘freshness’ and its always good when you have the same coach for a couple years, and the same players for a couple years, to create a fresh perspective. It’s good for the coach, and it good for the older players too,” said Crader.

“Underclassmen make the upperclassmen become better leaders. They encourage them to bring the team together,” said Alonso.

This usually brings up the next question, how does one know if they are good enough for varsity? One can win the job based on the competition for ones individual position, by winning the job on during the varsity tryout or being considered for varsity based on your ability during the junior varsity tryout.

“Taylor, the frosh-soph coach, and I are both watching the frosh-soph tryouts, and the varsity tryouts, and we are looking for, ‘who is the best girl on the frosh-soph court’, ‘does she fit in with the varsity group’, and we’ll have her switch the varsity tryout or we could decide not to,” said Crader.

“Put yourself out there. I mean you might as well try. You won’t know if you don’t try. It’s better to not have the regret and just to have the loss. Hey I tried, I did my best, it didn’t work but its not like you can worry about it. But definitely put yourself out there. You never know what’s going to happen,” said sophomore Elena Mateus.