March Highlander

LOOK INSIDE:

Art and Music Pages 8-9

Trash and recycling

Page 7

The Highlander

Cost of sports Page 15

Carlmont High School Newspaper Volume III, Issue VI, March 2012 See us online at http://scotscoop.com

Carlmont Communication

By Jacob Rudger Staff writer

Communication goes two ways: how the information can be offered, and a person’s will to receive and maintain this information.

One of the most classic excuses from students if they miss a club meeting or school event is: “I didn’t hear about it.”

It is this excuse that drives the people in charge of Carlmont publicity crazy.

ASB publicity supervisor and student body vice president Kristi Tom has experienced this frustration first-hand.

“I get really discouraged because publicity works really hard to put up posters and make announcements about upcoming events. Although it is extremely discouraging, we continue to publicize events, in hope that people become more aware of what ASB puts out there,” said Tom. In short, the people who work behind the scenes to communicate with the student body are insulted when their efforts go to waste.

Principal Raul Zamora takes pride in the way Carlmont communicates, not only to the students, but to anyone who is interested in Carlmont news and events.

“We take several pathways in terms of publicizing events. We have the PTSA communicating to parents about events, class information, and sports boosters.

Our guidance department sends emails to seniors and juniors about available scholarships. ASB constantly puts in great effort to publicize events. Also, this year, journalism

Cops stop students

By Luisa Zepeda Staff writer

Carlmont’s senior parking lot has become Belmont Police Department’s new destination to find any teens driving recklessly.

With the ever growing number of teenage drivers, safety officials are becoming stricter on teens committing violations.

Many students can see police officers “stake out” in streets, such as Chula Vista Avenue, Ralston Avenue, and other streets near Carlmont, to find teenagers committing violations. “I mainly stop students for merging into bike lanes or not making a complete stop,” said school resource officer Milana Jordan.

Before a student decides to get their permit, they must take driver’s education, which is a course either online or in a classroom that informs them on rules and hazards of the road. Therefore, when they are ready they know what to expect on the road.

It shouldn’t be a surprise to many of the students that do receive tickets when they have been informed of the laws they are faced with beforehand.

Punishments may vary with each violation, but many do end with going to traffic

Continued on page 12

was presented the challenge to keep up the daily bulletin, and they have done a great job,” said Zamora.

Zamora is right. Carlmont offers many different forms of communication. These efforts keep everyone involved in the school informed and up-todate.

Sophomore D.J. Martin contributed to the discussion of communication, as he stated, “Carlmont does a good job of communicating. Infor-

Photo illustration by Dana Bloom

mation is in the announcements and all over the school walls.”

Students like Martin are the individuals

who pay attention to the publicity provided to them at school. These students serve as examples that Carlmont does a good job

Continued on page 12

What is Carlmont?

By Sarah Levin Staff writer

From performing arts to school sports, the definition of Carlmont continues to be shaped by its students and shapes their lives along the way.

Students spend most of their lives here at Carlmont. For a total of six hours a day, five days a week, students can be found in these classrooms and hallways. They have the same teachers, take the same classesthey even eat the same hot lunch. Yet when asked to answer the question, “What is Carlmont?” students came up with very different answers.

For some, the academic programs are the most notable aspect of Carlmont. Junior Andrew Cardozo talked about the expansive math and science programs. “We have so many high-level math classes,” he said, “like Multi-Variable and AP Statistics.

They’re really hard classes, and they show the high academic level of the kids at this school.”

Sophomore Ryan Dimick believes that the wide variety of classes is an important feature of the school. “We don’t really focus on one subject,” he said. “We’re more of an allaround school. We have a lot of programs other schools don’t have, like Biotech. They even put in an entire new building for that,

and not many other schools can say they have a whole building just for Biotech.”

Regardless of what courses or programs they’re involved in, it’s clear that academics plays a large role in the lives of Carlmont students- and it shows through their dedication.

“Students really have to put in a lot of effort at Carlmont,” Cardozo said. “We take really hard classes with a lot of homework, and on top of that people are involved in sports, which can be really demanding too. I think that the amount of dedication Carlmont students have is a big part of what makes our school what it is.”

On the other end of the spectrum, the social aspect of Carlmont is the most important for some students. Junior Gillian Spring cited school friends as the reason most kids come to Carlmont in the first place.

Photos by Highlander Staff

“Socializing is a big part of Carlmont,” she said. “A lot of kids here don’t show up because they like going to class- they show up because they want to see their friends.”

Beyond small groups of friends, some students, like Junior Emma Smith, men

Continued on page 12

News and Opinions

Page 2

Today’s social networking will be old news by tomorrow

By Kellan McDonough Staff Writer Why did MySpace disappear and will Facebook do the same?

Five years ago, people were still using MySpace, while Facebook and Twitter were barely heard of.

These days, mostly everyone has a Facebook and MySpace is barely used.

Facebook is making major changes to their website. They have adapted the Timeline, which many consider annoying and difficult.

When asked if he liked the new changes to Facebook, Kevin Juarez commented, “No I don’t because it shows everything your friends like, it doesn’t have the most recent option in the newsfeed, and the new chat with all the people who are not online is confusing.”

Are the new changes enough reason to stop using Facebook?

MySpace became less popular when it added useless features that didn’t enhance the website. People

lost interest because MySpace didn’t focus on making their website easier for the user.

In addition, MySpace does not protect against sexual predators.

Profile pictures on MySpace can be completely nude. Facebook, on the other hand, has a staff that works to protect the site from pictures and posts that provide an unpleasant environment and harass the users.

Although Facebook made major changes to their website in the past year, they have not strayed from the goal: to provide a safe social networking experience.

People are doubting Facebook, especially with the complicated new chat and timeline, but Facebook has managed to keep the same mission and goal.

Naturally, as technology and media progress there will be newer and better sites. But for now, the future of Facebook is safe.

Twitter, another social media innovation, is almost as popular as Facebook. On Twitter, users cannot “like” posts as you can on Facebook, but you can “retweet” them, which basically posts them from your own profile.

Although Twitter is popular

now, it will not last in the social media scene. Twitter is arguably pointless because there is no way to show appreciation for a tweet without completely retweeting it, marking it as a favorite, or sending a tweet directly to the person.

The only direct interaction on the tweets themselves are retweeting, replying, quoting, or marking it as a favorite.

Tumblr, a website meant for blogging, is also incredibly popular. This website has emerged within the last five years, and continues to maintain our attention.

This site makes it easy to follow other blogs and interact with similar artistic interests. Just like Facebook, Tumblr has a feed that shows the posts of the blogs you follow.

Unlike any other blogging website, Tumblr allows you to control what your website looks like.

Although certain aspects of Tumblr are similar to Facebook and Twitter, some say it will last on the scene for at least another couple years.

Instagram is an app that allows users to share photos.

The downside to Instagram is

that it is only available on the iPhone. Although the iPhone is incredibly popular, Instagram does not have it’s own website.

Pinterest, a website meant to organize interests on a virtual bulletin board, is catching the interests of many. It is an easy way to share fashion, cooking, and art.

Although there are similarities to blogging websites, Pinterest has the creative edge that the public look for.

These new sites are all competing to stay on top, and they could easily be thrown off the radar just like MySpace. Only time will tell what peeks Internet users’ interest in ten years.

92% of Carlmont students do not use MySpace anymore

Youth today needs to be more aware

By Alex Porter Features Editor During a time when there is an array of different and conflicting issues in our world and society, our generation must take responsibility for the future and start to listen and understand the news.

Most students either do not have time or do not find the news entertaining enough to watch, so they are missing out on some of the most vital information needed for their futures.

Instead of watching and listening to the “boring” news, students find most of their information through social networks.

Twitter tells them what a celebrity ate for breakfast, Facebook gives them someone to lurk on at lunch, and Yahoo tells them where the hottest spots are to go at night.

Social networking is a great way to retain information, and instead of using it for pointless updates, it should be used for spreading information.

The Kony2012 movement is a perfect example of how to make news relatable and

accessible through social sites.

Although there are online forums and applications for major newspapers or news stations, most teenagers overlook these sources.

It is as likely for youth to gain consistent, viable information from a social network as it is for an entertainment reporter to get their facts right.

How many students are actually aware of the international issues we face today? Very few. And even more discouraging, even fewer are aware about problems in our own country.

It seems people are only aware during a time of a catastrophe.

A natural disaster wrecks havoc and everyone is captured by its destruction. A gunman opens fire at a high school and now everyone knows the step-by-step attack.

A disease sweeps a nation and everyone understands its functions and consequences.

Our attention must be focused on all the varying issues, and aptitude needs to be applied for when they occur.

Of those who do know, or at least have a basic grasp of what is happening, do they understand what is being done to help the problem? Or more importantly, would you know what to do?

For example, everyone knows about the current state of the economy, but the “what went wrong?” and “how do we fix it?” questions constantly draw up a blank.

This thought process applies to many other situations, such as health care, strikes, taxes, scandals, etc. and the youth must become accustom to using this type of critical thinking upon making decisions in our futures.

We live in a democracy, arguably the most progressive type of government, a government that allows us to make our own decisions.

Yet many of us take for granted this fact, and lack appreciation in understanding how a democracy works.

Democracy is more than just “the people.”

It is about balance between what the people want how the government can put those needs into action while keeping a safe and controlled society.

By learning this information at a younger age, more preferably in classrooms, students can expand their understanding as they grow older, creating a more well-rounded citizen.

If we know only the basic information and continue to stay out of the loop, what does our future hold?

There are people that have already acknowledged everything I have previously mentioned. There are people who routinely watch the morning news.

But these people are a small percentage.

It is the rest of the youth that need to realize how critical it is to gain knowledge.

If our whole generation were to listen and be cognizant of what is going on around us, we would all be better prepared for the future.

We do not want to subconsciously agree with our sarcastic parents when they say, “I can’t believe YOU’RE going to be taking care of me when I’m old!”

The truth is, our generation will be the one that will be running the city, the state, the country, the world, in the future.

We cannot start off knowing nothing.

So we should start developing more well-informed mind set, using the new technological resources of today to our advantage.

Not only must we build confidence for ourselves, but for other generations, past and future.

All the information is out there. Take responsibility, for the betterment of yourself and everyone else in the world, by acquiring information through news sources.

News and Opinions

More than just a teacher

By Matthew Harris Staff Writer

David Braunstein, the history teacher from D-26, is more than just a teacher here at Carlmont. He is also one of the Council members for the city of Belmont.

A graduate of UCLA and father of three, Braunstein has been on the city council since 2008 and was the mayor in 2009.

He was the former chair of the Economic Development Committee and was instrumental in the renovation of Belmont’s Library.

Currently, he is also a member of Belmont’s city audit committee and is also on the city’s emergency planning commission.

“A number of years ago, I was invited to the Belmont Library project, where I took a leadership role. It got my name out there, and I ran for Councilman because the people Belmont were looking for an honest, experienced candidate for our City Council.”

Braunstein graduated with a BA in political science from the University of Los Angeles before he obtained a teaching credential from San Francisco State University.

In 2007, after the completion of the new Belmont Library, he ran for the City Council, and, in 2009, was the mayor of Belmont (in Belmont, the mayor’s office is

rotated though the elected council members, rather than having a specific election.)

As mayor, Braunstein oversaw Belmont’s businesses during the height of the financial crisis, the completion of the new preforming-arts building at Carlmont High School and the implementation of the city’s controversial smoking law, among the toughest in the nation.

As a teacher, Braunstein teaches History and Social Studies in D-26, alongside his wife, Patricia Braunstein.

“I want [my students] to know their responsibilities as citizens and how to get involved, some former students of mine have come back and asked me for connections and help in politics,” Braunstein said.

“When I’m teaching, I use lots of personal experience and examples from my involvement in local politics. It helps them [my students] to learn about their role in society, students can get involved in many ways, such as being a Youth Chair Commissioner or being in student government, just ask your teachers.”

“It starts in little steps,” he added.

David Braunstein is also an AYSO and little league coach for his three children, two of whom attend Fox Elementary School. In 2006, he received an award for his contribution to the new library in Belmont.

Page 3

Carlmont: Battle of the grades

By Sabrina Leung Staff Writer Like all high schools, Carlmont is divided into four classes: freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

Many students bridge the age gap and have friends in various grade levels. However, some students treat other students outside of their class differently based on their views of them.

“Freshmen are well, freshmen. Some are nice but others are annoying little twits that you wish to squash. Sophomores are kind the same as freshman except they are my age. Some are annoying. I don’t really know any juniors, and seniors are just old,” stated sophomore Claire McKeefry.

Many Carlmont students have found themselves coexisting in classes with older or underclassmen. These students have formed various opinions on each grade level based on their in-class experiences.

“Freshmen are always viewed as the lowest on the high school totem pole and are usually noted as having the ‘freshman backpack.’ They are often looked down on by the upperclassmen, who claim they are annoying. The sophomores and juniors are always stressed about schoolwork. High school isn’t really fun for them anymore.

The seniors get to do all the fun stuff and can’t wait to leave the school,” stated sophomore Lorraine Lehner.

Additionally, some students have found cooperating with other grade levels

challenging and prefer to work amongst their own peers.

“I have classes with underclassmen but I really only work with them in two of my classes, with a few exceptions,” said senior Gabrielle Sue. However, some students have found working with other grade levels enjoyable.

“I like most of the older kids at our school.

I have performed in musical events with them and befriended them too,” stated freshman Cailtin Tsai.

“I like younger classmen, because they are so excited about high school and they really try hard which, as a senior, tends to not be so true anymore,” said senior Deepti Bansal.

Some students have distinguished varying treatment of each class based on grade level.

“Upperclassmen, especially seniors, have way more privileges than other grades.

They get to go to prom and all the special senior class and graduation activities, and have a lot more freedom in choosing classes,” stated Lehner.

Despite differing grade levels and preconceived notions of other classes, many students believe that people at Carlmont treat each other as equals and are able to collaborate harmoniously.

Students of each class at Carlmont have varying opinions of other grade levels.

As a whole, however, Carlmont’s student body appears to coincide peacefully and productively.

Determination without delight is detrimental

By Carly Bertolozzi Campus Editor Determination is the key to success; however, the key to success accompanied by delight is passion.

When a person is passionate about what they are doing, there is a certain force that not only drives them towards success, but happiness as well.

When a person is motivated by the perks and incentives of completing a task rather than the completion of the task itself, the job will get done, but the feeling of satisfaction will be immensely mitigated.

Since the majority of us are aspiring to attend colleges with relatively competitive admission policies, the most appropriate analogy would be extracurricular activities.

Countless amounts of the students applying to colleges feel pressured to be able to inscribe impressive extracurricular activities on their college applications; therefore, masses of us rush to sign up for school clubs that perform services benefiting the community, tryout for school sports, or search for standout internships or jobs, amongst other activities that our parents and counselors believe will appear notable to college admissions officers.

But were colleges uninterested in students who excel in areas outside of normal classroom duties, I dare say a small percentage of us would volunteer for trash duty on a singularly filthy beach in Half Moon Bay. Picking up trash isn’t what fosters joy; whether it’s playing your favorite sport, participating in the school play, or joining choir, our hobbies are what fosters joy, and what fosters joy is what time should really be spent on.

In other words, it is pointless to do something if you don’t love it.

The way I see it, as an adult, when rummaging through your past and pulling out your high school years, you will not think back and say, “You know, I should have picked up more trash from the beaches.”

But if you pursue something you truly love, the memories you create in the process will undeniably impact your life forever.

Personally, I have given up many hobbies for alternative activities, some of which I enjoyed and some of which I did not, and now immensely regret it.

Lacing up my cleats, pulling my socks over my shin

Editor-in-chief: Dana Bloom Jenna Chambers

Copy Editor: Ashley Dierolf

News and Op:

The Highlander Sports:

Gianna Dimick

Online:

Steven Tsujisaka

Cartoonist: Isabella Paragas

Anna Wheeler

Entertainment: Erica Valbusa

Campus:

Carly Bertolozzi

Business: Nikos Frazier

Faculty Adviser: Justin Raisner

Features: Alex Porter

Fun Page:

Rachel Schuster

guards, and stepping onto a freshly mowed field is what I miss the most.

The adrenaline of brushing past the last defender, pushing the ball out just enough to achieve the perfect angle, aiming for the back of the net and watching the expression of disappointment on the keeper’s face used to be the ultimate source of joy for me.

Nowadays, my focus has been redirected to reaching one destination: college. I am doing everything I can to ensure myself a spot in an UC or CSU, but, as I stated earlier, success coexisting with delight is achieved by passion.

My passion is playing soccer, and this is why I plan to cut out unnecessary, dissatisfying activities from my life in order to bring the joy it brought me back into my life.

Hopefully, anyone who has given up a beloved hobby as well will consider making the time to get back to what they love.

Otherwise, the decision to do what makes one unhappy will become a sequence, progress to a trend, and eventually solidify into a way of life.

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Staff Writers:

Grace Chang Shannon Chang Gabriela D’Souza Kristen Dames Ryan Freeman Ivan Garin Graham Godwin Erin Greig Matthew Harris Courtney Heatherington Ryan Hogan Chris Leong

Sabrina Leung Sarah Levin Conrad May Kellan McDonough Hailey Miller Virginia O’Callahan Jacob Rudger Chloe Scott Selina Sorensen Kiana Valdez Luisa Zepeda

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 Comments can be sent via email to editor@scotscoop.com Visit scotscoop.com for daily content updates, videos, slideshows, and more.

Features

Page 4

Upper classmen and the AP monster

The rigorous road to college starts much earlier than you may think

By Ryan Freeman Staff Writer With stress from parents and friends and the extreme pressure to get into the perfect college, students are beginning to feel overworked.

With a large selection of honors classes available, schedules are becoming more rigorous as early as sophomore year.

“I have two five point classes and all honors classes this year and I’m taking five AP classes and Spanish three honors next year,” explained sophomore Pasha Minkovsky.

College being the ultimate goal for most students, it is understandable the severe intensity that the year before applications are sent out is given.

“To many, it is important to get into a good college and feel junior year is what

really counts,” explained junior Justin Quan “The only reason I’m taking all five point classes next year is because I really want a 5.0,” explained Minkovsky.

It is well known that along with a student’s GPA, colleges look highly upon their SAT/ ACT score.

“We spend a large part of our year’s class time preparing for the SAT/ACT. For example in English class, we spend a large portion of class preparing for the essay writing and vocab,” explained junior Eric Smith.

“During junior year you can start taking AP classes so people like to load up on classes to help them on their college apps,” continued Smith.

Senior Alan Kaptanoglu, who achieved a 5.0 junior year and a 4.5 this year, was recently accepted into Stanford University.

In explanation of his choice to take all AP classes, he said, “I think that taking a lot of AP classes my junior and senior years was worth it because colleges really like to see those on your application.”

Although Kaptanoglu’s main focus for taking on such a rigorous schedule was getting into an excellent college, it wasn’t his only motive.

He also wanted to explore classes that interested him, such as math and science.

Even with such an intense set of classes, on top of playing soccer this year, Kaptanoglu found a way to keep his stress levels low and even get to bed on time.

As colleges demand a student both outstanding in and out of the classroom, students after school life has become as blocked up as their every day school life.

With mandatory practice for most school

The Highlander: Do you find your classes to be a lot of hard work?

Alan: I don’t find my workload to be particularly difficult, just timeconsuming.

H: Why did you choose to take AP classes?

A: I chose these classes because I’m very interested in math and science and want to keep up a challenging course load to appeal to colleges.

H: How do you mange your time?

A: Successfully taking on a large workload is directly related to how you manage your time. At the end of the day, you should try to balance having a good time in high school with having a transcript you’re proud to send to colleges.

H: Was it worth taking so many AP classes in junior and senior year?

A: I think that taking a lot of AP classes my junior and senior years was worth it because colleges really like to see those on your application; especially with a 4 or 5 on the AP test.

sports starting around 3:30 and usually ending around 5:45, vital homework time is lost.

“When soccer is in season, I usually finish my homework at the earliest around 11:00 or 11:30,” explained Quan.

KidsHealth.org states that, “Most teens need about eight and a half to more than nine hours of sleep each night. The right amount of sleep is essential for anyone who wants to do well on a test or play sports without tripping over their feet. Unfortunately, though, many teens don’t get enough sleep.”

With having to try and be a normal teenager on top of everything else, is it really worth it?

“Sometimes it is tough and stressful, but I think it will be worth it in the end,” explained junior Shannon Stengele.

photo by Prestige Portraits

Alan’s Advice:

Alan Kaptanoglu is a senior at Carlmont High School. He is one of many students that over excels in his academics.

Alan is a perfect student to gather advice from if you’re interested in taking AP classes.

H: Do you ever have enough time to do after school activities?

A: I have plenty of time after school to do what I like to do because I typically do my homework as soon as I get home and then have plenty of time afterwards to do what I want.

H: How long does it take you to do homework each night, on average?

A: About 1.5 hours

Do lyrics mean anything anymore?

The new generation of music is more about noise than words

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of music that has very meaningful lyrics,” explained sophomore Charlotte Lewis.

With a large range of genres in music, such as rock, metal, techno, R&B, alternative, country and even soul, it’s hard not to find a style that has meaning in their lyrics. “[T]he music I listen to requires talent, it’s more organic and less electronically produced.

Also, there is much more meaning to the songs that I listen to.There’s still poetry in the lyrics, instead of just talking about trying to have sex in a club or some crap like that,” said O’Loughin.

One example is a song written by Demi Lovato, “Skyscraper,” in her come back album.

“Go on and try to tear me down I will be rising from the ground Like a skyscraper!”

Notice the very different themes in Lovato’s song as opposed to LMFAO.

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Though Lovato may not be every one’s favorite artist, her lyrics echo her hope and new-found self confidence after overcoming an eating disorder and other selfdestructive habits.

Another example is a song by the six-Grammy-award-winning artist, Adele, in “Someone Like You.” “Never mind, I’ll find someone like you I wish nothing but the best for you too Don’t forget me, I begged, I remember you said, Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead” Known for her heart wrenching compositions about bad break ups, she speaks from the heart and is able to relate to what some girls go through after getting dumped.

Though break up songs usually sound like the girl wants to seek revenge on the boy who dumped her, Adele takes the high road, and cared about the man enough PACK, well, my tha of tm t yf on r ie fr

to leave and “wish for nothing but the best” for him.

Music and its lyrics are a way to creatively describing one’s feelings, and is considered a form of art and poetry, not about superficial things described by many pop artists.

These two artists had a message to share with the world and people want to listen to songs that they can relate to.

Unfortunately, lyrics and their message is not as important to the producers that advertise the artists, whose main goal is to make money.

“The lyrics are irrelevant, it’s about how the producers of the song and how much they want to advertise that specific singer,” explained Lewis.

Though many of the songs of this generation seem hopelessly artificial and shallow, there are still artists out there that write songs that truly mean something, it’s just a matter of finding them.

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It seems like all the popular, over-played songs on the radio are just about having a nice beat instead of having meaningful lyrics.

Some students have to come to the conclusion that meaningful songs have become extinct in today’s songs with artists like Ke$ha, Pitbull, and LMFAO, whose songs are all about drinking, partying, and hooking up.

With songs that say the only way for any young person to fun is to party and “just have a good time” in the words of LMFAO in their song “Party Rock Anthem,” no one can blame them.

These songs do have their place: on the dance floor.

“But what I don’t get is how people can sit around and listen to it and feel good from it,” explained senior Erin

O’Loughin.

To use the example of much beloved group LMFAO, and their popular song “Party Rock Anthem”: “And we gonna make you lose your mind Everybody just have a good time One more shot for us, another round Please fill up my cup, don’t mess around We just wanna see you shake it now Now you wanna be, you’re naked now” Take away the catchy beat, and what is left is a pointless message that talks about partying, drinking, and stripping, as if it were the best way to spend the weekend.

However, do not despair, music lovers, for there is still hope for the music of today.

“There are so many types of music out these days I know that a lot of people listen to a variety

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By Isabella Paragas Staff Writer

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features

Page 5

Look out for the next “Senior Prank” As Carlmont enters its second semester, the time has come for the senior class to start scheming and planning the infamous “Senior Prank.”

A senior prank is a type of organized prank that is orchestrated by the senior class to cause chaos and confusion throughout the school.

Senior pranks are often seen as a final send off of the class, a well thought out and executed prank almost certainly leaves a legacy for the class. If the prank plays out successfully, it could even leave an everlasting memory on the students, staff and community.

These pranks are an unofficial tradition at most high schools, similar to the unofficial “senior skip day” or throwing a beach ball around at graduation.

For the prank to be successful, it requires the cooperation and effort of the majority of the graduating class. Along with secrecy and stealth, the prank must have pinpoint organization and analysis

of all the possible logistics.

All over the country seniors are starting to get their acts together for the yearly prank and it is no different at Carlmont.

No seniors were willing to go on record to comment on this year’s prank, citing the needs for, “keeping it surprise” and “staying on the down low.”

Senior pranks go way back as well.

Teachers may recall their own classmates pulling off impossible feats at their respective schools.

Although the pranks are supposed to be funny and enthrall the

ism category, they become less and less funny and more of a hazard to the safety of the student body and faculty.

History teacher Patricia Braunstein agrees that damaging school property is not the way to go and that the pranks in recent years have lacked imagination, “putting glue in the locks is just stupid, a lot of the pranks have been bad lately, nothing good in a while,” she said.

The senior prank of the Class of 2011 deserves to be commended for its creativity.

Last year, the Carlmont senior prank involved posting signs for penis inspections in the boy’s bathroom, easily frightening many of the naive males who ventured into the photo by Kevin Frazier

By Graham Godwin Staff Writer

student body, there is an unofficial code of rules. When the pranks venture into the illegal and vandal-

bathrooms that day. The posters were quickly taken down and did not last the entire day.

Vice Principal Robert Fishtrom found last year’s prank to one of the better pranks as of late, “The fliers in the bathrooms were very funny and did not disrupt the flow of the school day.”

Braunstein has been at Carlmont for many years and has seen many pranks. “Some of the most memorable ones were when animals were set loose in the administration offices and when a car was somehow parked on the top of the quad,” she mentioned.

No one knows what to expect from this year’s prank. It could range from sheep being released on campus, all the way to thousands of bouncy balls being released in the hallways.

It is all in the seniors hands now as they try to leave their final mark on Carlmont before they graduate.

As the school year winds down, be on the lookout for the class of 2012s senior prank and the memories that come with it.

How to make friends with the best benefits Students Offering Support (S.O.S.)lends a helping hand The majority of students at Carlmont are familiar with the program Students Offering Support, which is more commonly referred to as S.O.S., which is a support program that is run by Shelley Bustamante, Carlmont’s guidance counselor.

A lot of students believe that S.O.S is very helpful and beneficial to Carlmont and its overall atmosphere.

“I think Ms. Bustamante is amazing.

She’s always there for me when I need someone to talk to, and S.O.S is the same way; they’re amazing,” sophomore Crystal Cortez stated.

The S.O.S. group consists of hundreds of members who come from all types of backgrounds. A select few of these members are leaders of sub-sections within S.O.S. S.O.S presents to freshmen about a variety of different topics which are typically prominent in high schools. These presentations are done by the members of S.O.S

over a span of about a week and take place in freshman history classes.

According to Kendal Wise, a member of S.O.S, these topics include “practicing safe sex, homophobia, anxiety and depression, bullying, academic success, healthy relationships, alcohol and drug resistance, and family troubles.”

S.O.S provides a much more hands-on method of helping as well.

“The members of S.O.S also counsel their peers with whatever they need to talk about.

Core members hold conflict mediation, which is when two or more students become involved in a conflict amongst each other, and S.O.S kids sit down with them, talk about the problem, and come to a resolution,” Wise added.

On top of that, the S.O.S presentations to the freshmen classes during the 2011-2012 school year inspired the beginnings of a few new groups.

“Out of the blue during the second semester... a few students created their own groups based on their personal experiences:

hate crimes, LGBTQ acceptance, and H.O.P.E (healing our past experiences),” said S.O.S member Steven Tsujisaka.

Hate crime is violence against others based on gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or identity, disability, and more.

The group will present to Carlmont students. Furthermore, some S.O.S members will also be giving a presentation to a high school in Newport Beach.

The LGBTQ acceptance group was created by a student based on his own experience with discrimination due to sexual orientation.

The last group, H.O.P.E, focuses on people who have gone through “a life-altering and traumatic experience such as death in a family or sexual abuse/violence,” explained Tsujisaka.

These groups cover issues that are extremely prevalent in high school. They photo by Shelley Bustamante

By Anna Wheeler News and Opinion Editor

have broadened the horizons of S.O.S. Wise sums up the essence of S.O.S saying, “Aside from the actual work we do, I personally think the most important thing S.O.S. does is form an outstanding group of kids of all different grades, personalities, and person experiences that unite us as one big, close-knit family. We help others who are in the process of helping themselves.”

photo by Shelley Bustamante

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photo by Isabella Paragas

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Campus

By Kristen Dames Staff Writer

By Nikos Frazier Business Manager

Throughout the ages, St. Patrick’s Day has been regarded as a simple holiday where kids go around pinching people and adults get drunk on green micro brew.

The history of St. Patrick’s day is not known by many, even though it is one of the most celebrated feast days in the Christian faith.

St. Patrick’s Day was first an official holiday in Ireland in 1903, but has been celebrated as a liturgical holiday since the early fifth and sixth century in the Christian faith.

In the fourth century, St. Patrick was born to a wealthy class in England of a deacon father and grandfather. However, at an early age, he is said to have been kidnapped and taken to Ireland.

During captivity in the western coast of Ireland, he was told by God to flee from captivity and travel to the coast.

And so he did, and upon arriving to the coast he returned to England.

From then on, he began to study as a priest and eventually was sent back to Ireland to convert the Pagan population to Catholicism.

Abundant in Ireland, clover or shamrocks were used by St. Patrick to show the Irish the strength of the Holy Trinity.

St. Patrick remained in Ireland as a priest until his death on March 17, 461.

His death is commemorated every year, and the center of this green holiday is centered around Downpatrick, the town in which he is told to have been buried. To show their belief and commemoration, celebrants wore blue until the early seventeenth century, when the color green became the proper color for the holiday.

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Celebrations come to Carlmont

St. Patrick’s Day

Art by Isabella Paragas

The legend of How Carlmont does St. Patrick’s day St. Patrick

Irela

Page 6

Traditions prove painful

By Kristen Dames Staff Writer

Here in the United States citizens have created their own traditions for St. Patrick’s Day. Among them is the tradition of pinching any unfortunate person who forgot to wear the color green on St. Patrick’s Day. “I like the holiday, I think its fun to see who remembers and who forgets to wear green,” said Sam King, a Carlmont freshman.

In Ireland, blue is the color traditionally associated with St. Patrick’s Day, not green.

Americans have adopted green as the holiday color because of the “lucky” shamrocks so often associated with St. Patrick’s Day. “I think pinching on St. Patty's day shouldn't really be a tradition because going around and pinching people if they aren't wearing green

Pin

is kind of mean in a way ‘cause people pinch hard and not everybody owns a piece of clothing that is green because some people don't like the color green,” said junior Maegan Folger.

The tradition of pinching started with school children and has grown into a national custom.

“I don’t really mind the pinching on St. Patty's day [...] when I don’t forget to wear green,” said King.

With out the luck of a clover green garment, any student is likely to fall victim to a pinch on the arm on March 17.

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Irish pride and influence is surfacing all over Carlmont in the form of games, clothes, and a small ornate ring.

For this year’s St. Patrick’s day festivities, ASB is hoping to make a positive impact on the Carlmont students.

Screaming Scots spirit advisor Kim Bean plans on boosting spirit through advertising.

“We are going to get students excited about St. Patrick’s Day. Many Carlmont students already are looking forward to the day because of the big parade in the city,” stated Bean.

However, some students are skeptical about how the celebrations will go over with the student body.

“I think ASB should advertise the activities more [...] sometimes I don’t hear about what’s being planned until the day of,” said freshman Sam King.

Even when students are aware of what is happening, some think there is a lack of spirit along side a lack of advertising.

“Last year there was no school spirit,” said sophomore Hannah Carney.

Carney believes there should be more competition between classes or prizes to up morale.

“Most kids need motivation because most people won’t just do it for the sake of it,” said Carney.

With a little luck, this year’s St. Patrick’s Day dress up and games will go swimmingly.

ASB is planning a few new special surprise events for students to show some Irish spirit on St. Patrick’s Day. One way students have been showing their Irish pride this year is by wearing a classic Irish ring called the “Claddagh Ring.”

The ring features two cupped hands holding a heart with a crown on top.

Girls all around Carlmont are wearing this ring with different motives in mind.

Some girls wear it for Irish heritage, others to show pride in their relationship and others simply because of the ring’s beauty.

“There are a bunch of different meanings for the ring.

Sometimes it’s purity and others to show a relationship. Wearing it towards you means your in a relationship and away is single.

Some use it as an engagement ring,” said Carney.

Not all of the wearers are aware of the unique symbolism the ring carries.

The heart symbolizes love while the hands demonstrate friendship. The crown is meant to symbolize loyalty and lasting fidelity.

“I like it because I’m Irish and I wear it for my boyfriend. Also it is very pretty.

I just see it as a sign of respect for your boyfriend or girlfriend, it shows you have pride in your relationship,” said Carney.

This St. Patrick’s Day, whether by showing pride in one’s heritage or in a relationship or simply by donning a festive shamrock, ASB hopes the students of Carlmont will show plenty of school pride.

Photo by Carly Bertolozzi

Festive food

By Nikos Frazier Business Manager

Every year as St. Patrick’s Day is being celebrated around the world, different cuisines are served to coincide with the holiday. With the poor origin of the country, many of these recipes are centered on easy and cheap recipes that the Irish peasants could easily come by.

One of the most popular recipes surrounding this holiday is Irish soda bread. Ingredients easy to come by, soda bread is a filling, raisin packed part of an authentic Irish dinner.

Because of the cold and foggy condition of Ireland, potatoes are commonly grown on the island. Many of the dishes have potatoes, which are quick nutrient sources. Potato dishes found around this holiday include soups, medleys and oven baked potatoes.

Many upper class meals can be found to consist of lamb shanks roasted and baked with warm gravies.

These lamb shanks, commonly known as lamb chops, feature a variety of warm colors that are found in the vegetables and potatoes served with a lamb dish.

Along with the lamb and potatoes, soups are also common around this holiday. With soups, there is a wide use of corned beef and hash.

As you celebrate this approaching holiday, start to wonder, what will I eat that is commemorating St. Patrick?

Campus

Page 7

By Gabby d’Souza Staff Writer

As many students and faculty members have begun to notice, Carlmont’s campus starts the day off clean, thanks to the hardworking janitorial staff, and slowly becomes a cesspool for teenage

trash as students carelessly litter the campus throughout the day.

“There is quite a bit [of trash] and I would say it’s a problem,” said sophomore Claire McKeefry.

Most of this trash is accumulated during lunch around B hall, the quad, and the upper quad area where a majority of the students

spend their lunchtime talking, eating, and of course letting their trash fall to the ground.

One of the most disturbing features of these lunchtime activities is that many students take the unwanted portions of the food they have bought from the Pit Stop or student store and throw it around like a plaything.

B hall, for example, has been littered with trash every single day after lunch. Some of the students who sit there like to throw food at the people who pass by, as if wasting food is a game.

“I don't think they should spend time during lunch here [in B hall], we have big campus they should go somewhere else,” said Felix Guzman, a chemistry teacher at Carlmont, who’s classroom is within B hall.

Guzman has noted that there has been some recent murmurs among the Carlmont staff on the controversy over whether the school should restrict students from eating in B hall.

Guzman continued to explain that the faculty has come up with the idea of closing off B hall to both find out who makes the mess, and to see how much trash on school campus is cut down due to their actions.

“Hallways are for people to

walk through,” said Guzman, “trash and rough games make hallways unsafe.”

There have been studies by the California Waste Reduction Program which have noted that schools with the Offer Verse Serve lunch program, in which students are allowed to decline the food they would not eat, have cut down their waste by an average of about 1.5 tons a year.

If Carlmont were to take on that program much of the school’s waste would be drastically reduced in a small amount of time.

The second biggest feature of this problem is that students are unaware of where to actually dispose of their trash and recycling.

“I do not think I have ever seen a recycling bin on campus other than the one behind the school,” said sophomore Cena Cook.

Due to the fact that Carlmont does not have regular recycling bins, other than behind the school and inside certain classrooms, many students make a habit of throwing everything into the trash.

A majority of these trash cans tend to overflow leaving students with the choice of walking to another trash can or simply leaving their trash on the ground. Most students pick the latter.

Photo by Gabby d’Souza

Campus cleanliness compromised “To be blunt, I think Carlmont needs more recycling bins; we would not have a litter problem if we just had a few of them,” said sophomore Jake Retchless.

Studies by the California Waste Recycle Program have shown that schools who adopt regular recycling cans around their campus for recyclables and food have reduced their disposal costs and increased efficiency of school operations.

If Carlmont were to simply add in a few recycling cans on the more frequented areas of campus the amount of trash on campus would be enormously reduce.

Even Carlmont principal Raul Zamora has addressed the issue by making a school wide announcement saying, “You might want to pick up your trash to make the campus look like it’s supposed to be.”

Reformed recycling system

Recology helps Carlmont become more ecologically aware

By Erica Valbusa Entertainment Editor In recent years, Carlmont has attempted to become more eco-friendly. Enlisting the help of Recology, a solid waste management and recycling company, Carlmont plans to raise a higher level of environmental awareness throughout campus.

Recology is recognized as the industry leader in resource recovery, having established the first and largest curb side yard debris and food scraps collection program in the country.

This company makes it easier for consumers to separate their waste into three categories: trash, recycling, and compost.

They also advocate WASTE ZERO, a strive to make the best and highest use of all resources that are manufactured, consumed, and discarded.

“Recycling is very important because it keeps things that can be reused out of landfills. It it important that we preserve our resources,” said junior Dylan Coffaro.

Recology started providing these services in communities in the Sequoia Union High School District in January 2011.

Recently, a zero-waste specialist from Recology came to Carlmont and completed a full assessment of the campus. The specialist assists organizations in improving recycling efforts and also helps install more efficient recycling systems.

During the school assessment, it was found that the number of trash cans exceeds the number of recycling cans by a great

number, and that not every classroom contains proper bins for students to recycle.

It was proposed that for every garbage can on campus, there should be a recycling can next to it as well.

“If this is convenient for the school to do, then why not do it? However, I think it would be easier for people to recycle if there were large bins or signs in the quad,” suggested junior Tanner Piety.

If the school decides to carry out this plan with Recology, the incorporation of more recycling bins is set to begin in the spring.

Carlmont French teacher Kathy Burton is passionate about incorporating this new recycling program in the school.

“I am almost zero-waste at home, and I know that a lot of students are close to being zero-waste at home as well.

In order for this to work, we need to

clearly identify the recycling and garbage bins on campus, and make sure that everyone is on board: teachers, students, and faculty,” commented Burton.

Despite attempts to bring more light to the importance of recycling, some students do not see how recycling plays an important role in society.

“I don’t think that recycling is that important. To me, it doesn’t really seem to make a difference,” commented junior Christoph Spilker.

Although Carlmont does have a recycling club, it is hoped that the incorporation of Recology’s programs will heighten the awareness on campus about

the importance of recycling.

“We need to get the entire school involved,” stated Burton. “It is a multipart process, but before we can focus on recycling, we need to deal with the trash problem on campus. We need students to encourage other students to be mindful of their trash and to recycle.”

Evolution of digital art

By Erin Greig Staff Writer

picture a photographer does not like can be deleted with the click of a button, unlike film photography where if a photographer messes up, nothing can be done to delete or alter the photograph.

“ [with web design] the ease of use has increased and barriers have decreased.”

Facebook is just one example that is popular among all ages.

Sheridan adds,"Digital media has broken

grown a lot and even worked with John DaBaldo's music classes to have a live band and orchestra perform while a student creThe evolution of digital art began in the ated animation plays on a screen.

1950s when the first visual images were Sheridan, who also teaches the animation captured by electronic class said, "the prindevices, and since then, ciples of animation technology has changed can be applied to the definition of art and its all classes and can accessibility. improve learning.

Photography has come a Students will look at long way from using film problems and critical to becoming digital. thinking in new Pixar’s climb to the pinnacle of computer animation success was a quick one, and the company continues to push the envelop in its art-and technology-inspired movie Digital photography ways." making endeavors. --Pixar teacher Cynthia Hodges The impact of this said, “Basically in film industry on society photography, you are making the photoIn the present, people can store photodown the barriers to communication and is world-wide with approximately 4500 graph by hand through a series of light graphs on a computer, but also can change, has changed the music industry, the video computer animation companies in 92 counexposures and chemicals. Digital photoalter, and enhance the photograph until one game industry, the movie industry, and even tries and is constantly transforming from graphs are stored on a memory card that is sees fit. journalism and book publishing." new innovative ideas. put in a computer and the photographs can Along with the advancement in technolOn http://renepardo.com/ the first computThe digital arts has come a long way at be altered in Photoshop, lightroom, Illustra- ogy, the advancement in computers has er animation created was in 1967 by Rene Carlmont and throughout the world. It has tor or iPhoto." grown drastically and left a lasting impresPardo and Norman McLardo. left a lasting impression and will hopefully What started as a trend has now become a sion in society.

The development of computer animation grow more from here. dominating platform in society.

The first web site built was info.cern.ch/ has made computers easier to interact with, Hodges commented, "You can send photos and was first put online on August 6, 1991 and better for understanding and interpretover the Internet which has a huge efby Tim Berners-Lee. ing many types of data. fect in the work world. A client could see It provided an explanation about what the The animation class at Carlmont has a product, news and other events can be World Wide Web was, how one could own a documented, friends can show what's going browser and how to set up a web server. on in their lives currently, and colleges can The website still works today and celshow pictures of their campus." ebrates 23 years of having the web this The evolution of photography has, to month. some, made photography be considered The Internet has become so much more more casual, whereas to others, made it accessible in the modern world, most curmore accessible. rently via mobile web.

With digital photography a photographer Web design teacher Joshua Sheridan says, can take as many shots as they want without having to worry about using a certain amount to get a picture of one subject. Any

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Creating a masterpiece

By Conrad May Staff Writer Over the course of the years, some students have shown to be excellent artists.

Most students take a different route to creating a artistic masterpiece, but all of the artists dedicate themselves and spend lots of time creating it.

Many of the physical arts like painting, ceramics, drawing and many others, take a massive amount of thought and time to create one piece.

The students who create these masterpieces have different ways of turning an art piece to a masterpiece.

One student who excels in drawing is sophomore Stefan Dismond.

Dismond said, “I think the most important and first part is the inspiration or the idea. The idea sort of manifests itself into something much more and the art just starts bursting out.”

After the idea comes, the artist must then start to turn the idea into reality.

Dismond then went on to say, “You could sort of compare it to a bomb in that before it can explode, you have to design the thing as to make it have the desired effect.”

Although many artists have common ideas of how to create an art piece, there are lots of different approaches on how to create it.

Sophomore Sarah Fecher said, “To create a piece in ceramics, the first thing that needs to be done is to come up with an idea. It is important to draw the piece before it is built. I sketch the piece so I have an Idea of what to build.”

Some pieces of art have different styles of how to prepare it to be finalized but have similar outcomes of how the piece comes out of the kiln.

The kiln is what is used to bake the pottery in ceramics.

Fecher then went on to say, “After that,

it depends on the piece. There are a lot of different approaches that can be used to build it. It all depends on how the piece is supposed to look and what I prefer to use to build it.”

Although these artists took different approaches to their art, they both take the necessary steps to making the best art piece that they could.

Both artists agree that art cannot be rushed and it takes time to come up with the ideas, and then to spend the time to create them.

Whether it is just going with where the art piece takes it, or using different strategies to sculpt it, all art pieces need skill and practice to become masterpieces.

Photos by Erin Greig

Behind the scenes of Footloose

What it takes to make a musical

By Kiana Valdez Staff Writer While the main production takes flight on the main stage, there is a whole other show going on behind the scenes.

Sometimes the audience does not realize how much effort is put into one program.

Weeks upon weeks are all put into making an award-winning show.

A number of students that are devoted to the arts know exactly what it is like to perform on the stage in front of a large group of people.

“Going out on stage on opening night and hearing the applause is the most exhilarating and wonderful experience ever,” exclaimed Kelly Gough, a sophomore.

Despite what it may seem, the performers are not the only ones that help put on the show.

There are also many people “behind the

curtain” that keep the show rolling.

What may surprise some is the amount of different behind-the-scenes jobs there are in one single production.

There is a set designer, costume designer, casting producer, lighting and sound squads, stage director, play writer, music composers, and conductors.

Even with a large amount of people working backstage, obstacles can still occur.

The performers learn to be poised in dealing with problems that may arise during a production.

“Not much ever goes wrong,” said Cierra Reimche, a current junior with a lead part in Footloose, “but if it does, we just have to keep going and move past it. It is a cliche but the show must go on!”

Each person, from the script writer to

performer, plays an important role to the outworking of the play.

According to various different websites, the total procedure of making a full Broadway musical involves many factors including a lot of practice.

“We have been practicing since January,” stated Reimche regarding Footloose, “so the whole process is like two and a half months.”

Reimche also added, “Performing is the easiest part, the hard part is just trying to stay excited and keep a positive energy.”

In the end, everybody contributes to the outcome of a show. Performers and staff work tirelessly in order to put on a good show. Learning about the process, though, can help one to understand and to have a deeper appreciation for the arts.

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Photos by Alex Porter

Fine Tun ng takes the stage

By Virginia O’Callahan Staff Writer Fine Tuning meets every A new all male a capella group called Monday and Wednesday at Fine Tuning has arrived at Carlmont. lunch in the choir rooms in FStarted this year by senior Justin Robert hall for practice. If anyone is Hom, Fine Tuning is now one of the many interested in joining this new choir groups the Carlmont hosts in addition Fine Tuning, he can contact to ones such as In Treble and Out Of The Genevieve Tep for more inforBlue.

“Fun times, white vests, and testosterone,” mation. said senior Sean Ang, when asked what exactly the new group was all about, “I have a lot of fun singing with the boys!”

The reason Fine Tuning was started was because of pure fun.

The group can enter and compete in competitions specifically for a capella groups. Plus, it’s an interesting way for some boys to get Fine Tuning performing at Carlmont High School extracurriculars.

Pops Concert British Invasion “It’s fun for me. I have friends in it,” Choirs added Ang. Several of Carlmont’s young male singers have already joined Fine Tuning, ranging from freshmen to seniors.

This is the first time Carlmont has ever had a group like this.

Getting the idea : The painstaking process of thinking of an good idea that will bring people from all over to watch the show.

Getting it on paper: Now is the time to make a script.

Introducing intriguing characters and situations that leave the audience wanting more.

Finding the money: In order to have nice clothes for the characters and appealing sets, it is important to have a sufficient amount of money.

Casting Call: The actors and actresses are very essential for the play.

Good performers make a good performance.

5

Practice, Practice, Practice: Three times for emphasis. Rehearsal is necessary in order for performers to get used to each other and for them to be able to work with each other well. This is also a time when the sets are used, as well as the lighting and music.

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Opening Day: The day has finally arrived. All of the work involved is finally put into action.

What it takes to be in band

By Virginia O’Callahan Staff Writer Band and orchestra are two of the performing arts that Carlmont has to offer students.

Many incoming freshmen join the electives after middle school after playing an instrument for several years, usually since elementary school.

Concert band is generally the band many people join after middle school, unless they audition to get into a higher back such as symphonic band or symphony orchestra.

“I got into symphony orchestra when I was a freshman. There are all kinds of different people in that group,” said junior Ryan Yen, who plays in the strings section of the orchestra.

Symphony orchestra has only a few specialized students and instruments in it,

Carlmont High School Symphonic Band and Symphony Orchestra at Winter Concert

not all instruments are played in the band.

String, percussion, and wind instruments are able to play in symphony orchestra.

“I play trumpet in symphonic band and jazz band. I have to practice a lot so I’m able to keep up with the others and play it right,” said junior Samuel Bunk.

Players of the instruments work hard, practicing every day to fine tune their skills and hone their abilities in the art of music.

Both Bunk and Yen have been playing since they were in elementary school, so they have had time to fine tune their musical skills.

By being in band, a student can earn his or her fine art credit requirements needed for graduation. It also allows a student to get experiences such as participating in competitions that give a student a new perspective of the arts and how he or she can apply them to themselves.

Entertainment Dance Moms: taking crazy to a new level Page 10

By Rachel Schuster Fun Stuff Editor The new season of Dance Moms has students at Carlmont falling out of their seats with laughter and shock, as the life of a competitive dancer is over-exaggerated to the max.

“It’s absolutely hilarious how ridiculous the show is,” laughed sophomore and dancer Charley Bernardo, “Pretty much all the drama on the show is non-existent at real competitions.”

Set at Pittsburgh’s renowned Abby Lee Dance Company (ALDC), owned and operated by notoriously demanding dance instructor Abby Lee Miller, Dance Moms is a reality television series that follows a few young girls’ early steps on the road to stardom, and their possessive mothers who are there for every rehearsal, performance, and fight.

“The moms on the show swear and fight and scream right in front of their nine or ten year old kids,” said senior Olivia Reidy, “The dance moms at my studio are nothing like that. They would never sabotage one another to get their kid on top or have a heart attack over the wrong shade of lipstick.”

The series itself focuses on the highs and lows that surround a competition season to deliver an intriguing and dramatic look at the casts’ frantic pursuit of the ultimate National Dance title.

Miller frequently states on the show that her girls “are the best.

They are winners and there’s no place for them to be except first.

They’re never second because those who are in second place are the first ones to Photo from www.mylifetime.com lose.”

Like Reidy and Bernardo, sophomore Dancer and junior Emily Heck gushed Jessie Real is also a competitive dancer and about the young dancers’ skills, remarking had a few things to say about the show. that “the little girls on that show have pure “Abby Lee is a monster. The way she talent. That’s the only good thing about the yells at the girls is insane and the pressure series; it showcases the real amazing artistic she puts on them is unbelievable. Real abilities that these kids have.” competitions are totally not death matches The show is centered on the devoted like they are portrayed on the show. They’re Miller, who runs her school with an iron tap intense and kind of stressful, but they’re shoe, instructs her students, and deals with also so much fun,” admitted Real. the constant irritations of their over-the-top “Dance competitions are split up into catmothers who go to great lengths to help egories, just like on the show. The big diftheir children’s dreams come true. ference is that the series only shows when “It’s so funny to watch the moms yell at the girls win in individual categories, not in Abby [Miller] because their faces get really the actual overall awards, which is where red and they never win,” said senior and scores really count,” continued Real. dancer Melanie Carlson.

Constantly pressured to win by Miller’s As the show continues to become more strict discipline and harsh style of teaching, popular, Dance Moms poses a tough quesher students and their mothers are pushed tion; what really goes on behind the scenes to the limit emotionally, physically, socially in the fast-growing and controversial art of and financially as they tirelessly rehearse competitive dance?

every day for weekly dance competitions throughout the country.

Some viewers watch from a completely unbiased point of view, as they are not dancers and see the show through a fresh viewpoint.

“I watched the show once with my girlfriend, and it was pretty intense,” said junior Connor Fenech, “It’s like a reality show for psycho-moms with an occasional good dance or two. I wish I could do flips and tricks like the dancers ‘cause they’re awesome.”

Sophomore Ryan Pau agrees with Fenech’s opinion of the series.

“Dance Moms is like that stupid Toddlers & Tiaras show. The moms and the dance teacher live their lives through the children.

They don’t let them have the true feeling of being a child and only care about the money and publicity they get from the show,” said Pau. Dance Moms uniquely captures this outrageous and dynamic interplay among teacher, dancer, and parent, as Miller commits herself to bring out the best in her students and mothers are willing to dedicate themselves to be part of one of the best dance teams in the nation.

Movie stereotypes not true for all

By Courtney Heatherington Staff Writer

Everyone knows who watches chick flicks and everyone knows who watches action/ horror movies.

What it is about the different genres that makes the different genders tick?

Is it the gruesome everyone-gets-theirhead-cut-off quality that entices males? Or is it the intense fight scenes that get them on the edge of their seat?

And for females, is the classic love story that plays with heart strings simply irresistible?

“In action movies, you don’t have to pay attention to the details and the graphics are usually better,” admitted junior Curtis Fan, “Most times the actresses aren’t even appealing in the chick flicks..”

“You can’t enjoy a movie if the visuals aren’t even good,” Fan added.

Junior Joe McGill agreed with the importance of good visuals. “Action movies have explosions. Those are the best to watch.”

While many males said they enjoyed the intense action-packed killing scenes and explosion, many females disagreed.

“I don’t like seeing people getting killed.

It’s not my thing,” said junior Alexa Lopez.

Junior Tricia Barrett agreed with Lopez, “I don’t really like watching murders and plots that are so unrealistic...I prefer a nice, sappy romantic comedy.”

However, not everyone enjoys the “sappy” qualities associated with romance movies.

“Chick flicks make girls cry and I normally don’t even see what’s sad...I guess some people are just over dramatic about them,” said junior Marcus Fukuhara.

The problem many found with chick flicks and romance movies is the similar plot line.

“I’d rather see action than sit and watch a two hour movie about the same old stuff, like a sad story about a girl and boy and they chase each other and they finally get each other, especially since it isn’t what it’s like in real life,” added Fukuhara.

Fan seconded that commented saying,

“They’re all the same.”

McGill agreed with Fan and Fukuhara, brushing off the originality of romantic comedies. “It’s always the same old thing.”

Although our female audience agrees that the story lines for romantic comedies may be similar, they disagree that this is a problem.

“Yeah, they kind of all have the same plot, but they show different ways that the characters fall in love. I like the story lines.

It’s cute,” Lopez said.

However, the “cute” nature of these romantic comedies are exactly what turns some viewers off.

“It’s squishy-squashy!” McGill exclaimed with disgust.

Another male, junior Chris Jung, agrees with the dislike of chick flicks.

“I try to avoid them [chick flicks]. I don’t want to waste $12 on watching something over dramatic and predictable,” said Jung.

Jung enjoys a different genre apart from action and romance, he likes disease movies because “they’re interesting and well

thought out.”

Junior Rachel Cissna is another lover of a unique movie genre, black and white films.

“I love the simplicity and culture of black and whites.”

Cissna is also an exception to the common stereotype of females enjoying romantic movies. “I absolutely despise romantic comedies. They are predictable and irritating.”

She prefers horror movies. “Horrors are the only ones that can keep my attention.

Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock is my favorite, because it is the birth of all horror films and is genius to its core.”

Lauren Reiley is a lover of both genres.

“I love both romantic and horror movies.

Romantic movies are good when you need to have that feeling of love, and scary movies when I need a good thrill.”

Movies, no matter what the genre, are a big source of entertainment today and will continue to be for years to come.

Entertainment Spotify offers alternative for music users

By Hailey Miller Staff Writer

Students at Carlmont have found a new music streaming service called Spotify that allows its users to listen to any of the over 15 million available songs.

Most Spotify users access their accounts through Facebook. This allows them to share music with their friends by posting their favorite tracks on Facebook. While scrolling through a person’s news feed on Facebook, all a person has to do is click on the play button on any of their friends’ music posts.

Users can share music through Twitter, Microsoft messenger, and Spotify itself.

Matt Wood, senior and Spotify user, commented, “I use Spotify sometimes to share music with friends because it’s easy.”

Spotify opened in October 2008 by a Swedish start-up company, Spotify AB, by founder Daniel Ek. Originally available in only a select few countries, Spotify is became available to the United States in 2011.

When Spotify was just starting up, in order to manage the growth rate of the service, people could only access Spotify one of two ways.

They could either pay for a subscription or get a free account but only if they were invited by a member. It wasn’t until recently that Spotify Free was made accessible to the public in the United States, as a result of a deal between Spotify and Facebook.

Many Carlmont students are currently enjoying their free subscriptions to Spotify, evident by the track-sharing on peoples’ news feeds. However, they might not realize that the amount of music they have access to right now will not continue indefinitely.

That deal between Facebook and Spotify not only allows the site to go public, but it also lets their users sync their two accounts together. It also guarantees that any Spotify user that makes an account through Facebook will get six months of unlimited music from Spotify’s music catalogue.

But after the first six months are over, users will be restricted to only 10 hours of music listening per month and they will only be able to listen to any one song five times.

Melissa McCormick, a junior at Carlmont, explained, “Those restrictions are ridiculous, like I didn’t even know that they were coming. I don’t know about other people, but when I like a song I’ll listen to it more

than five times in a month.”

If a user is willing to pay for their Spotify subscription, they have two options. The first is paying $4.99 a month for Spotify Unlimited. This would eliminate the restrictions mentioned above.

But, if the user is willing to pay $9.99 a month, they can upgrade to Spotify Premium. With Spotify Premium, the user is able to enjoy as much music as he or she wants, without any restrictions and without any advertisement. Perhaps the biggest difference though would be that they would be able to use the Spotify application on their mobile device.

Spotify will even allow its users the enjoy one month of Spotify Premium for free as a way to convince them to subscribe.

For those who decide to try the one-month free promotion, be aware that after the first month is over, a monthly service charge will be issued unless the user unsubscribes.

“I wouldn’t pay any money

Page 11

for Spotify,” explained Wood, “There are lots of other ways to listen to music that are free and easier.”

Although Spotify may be a great music streaming service with millions of songs available to its users for free, once its restrictions set, it seems that many people will return to downloading their music illegally.

Rising popularity of country concerts

By Shannon Chang Staff Writer Many Carlmont students enjoy going country concerts over the spring and summer, while others wonder what the appeal is for these students.

Junior Shawna McDonough commented, “I love country concerts because it is a fun environment where you get to see a lot of people that you have not seen in a while and you can meet new people. Everyone is usually friendly and there’s always great music.”

Junior Haley Smith agreed, “I like country concerts because the singers that come to Shoreline are really entertaining and lots of people you know go. It is really fun.”

While many people enjoy the atmosphere of country concerts, others have a different opinion.

“I know a bunch of people like to go to country concerts, but I do not really see the point in paying that much money just for the atmosphere,” commented junior Abbey Holman.

Some students think country concerts are well worth the money to enjoy the music and environment while others think it is just a waste of money.

Even though it may seem obvious that people go to listen to the music, there are also many other reasons.

Students go to these concerts for many reasons, one of which is for drinking alcohol.

An anonymous source stated, “The real reason many people like to go country

concerts is to drink alcohol. When you get into the actual concert, everyone is already drunk and you do not even hear the music until you start sobering up about 30 minutes before the concert is over, but it is really fun to take pictures and see all of them after.”

A big part of country concerts for many people is the environment, often including the drinking.

Some students admit that they use concert concerts as an excuse to drink alcohol but others go simply because they love the music.

McDonough continued, “There is great music and it is fun to catch up with old friends and take as many pictures as you can. It is also a lot of fun to take the train up to Shoreline.”

Although some students like country music, others do not show the same enthusiasm.

Junior Mindy Yang stated, “I do not go to country concerts because I do not like country music.”

Many others agree with Yang - they don’t enjoy the type of music.

Marcus Fukuhara said, “I have not been to a country concert, but I still

find country music in general good, it is just not my favorite to listen to.”

Many others think it’s a great way to express their emotions.

“Country music is beautiful. The music helps you connect the body to the soul. The words are smooth and the singers are naturally talented,” commented junior Andrew Durlofsky.

Junior Joe Walters stated, “Country concerts are fun because the music is pretty cool. I really like country music, and that is the only reason I go,” similarly to most students who attend country concerts.

It cannot be denied that a large amount of people go to country concerts, but for many different reasons.

Some students say that they enjoy the atmosphere, and others only go to hear the music that they play, while some are not fond of this type of music at all.

Several artists will be performing at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in the upcoming months.

Zac Brown Band will perform on April 14 and Miranda Lambert will perform on April 27.

Page 12

Cops on patrol

school, fines, and in some cases suspension of their license until age eighteen.

“Even though I was fined, it doesn’t make me change the way I drive or anyone else.

It just makes you more aware of police,” said student Han Li. Students that do commit violations are punished on a point system that may accumulate into a suspension of their license or a heavy fine.

According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, one point violations include traffic tickets and causing an accident. Two point violations include reckless driving, driving with a suspended or revoked license, hit-and-run, or driving under the influence.

These points may accumulate throughout the years, and will never expire.

In student Chris Jung’s case, his first offense was driving with the music too loud at night, but resulted in no consequences.

Extras Continued from front

His second offense was driving at 90 mph in a 35 mph zone in Redwood Shores.

“Here I did have to pay a $500 fine and had to take classes with a police officer for a month,” explained Jung.

“The first few days, I did slow down, but after I didn’t care. They can’t keep me off the streets forever. The only thing that does suck is how expensive insurance goes up,” continued Jung.

Even without any sort of violation insurance rate for teen drivers is costly, and when a teen receives a ticket or is involved in a car accident, the insurance rates become more expensive.

Driving is a serious and responsible privilege that many teens take advantage of, yet teens that are fined or put on probation may be motivated to change, but it is their responsibility to take action.

What is Carlmont? Continued from front

tioned school-wide activities and spirit as an outstanding feature of Carlmont.

“I feel like school spirit is a big thing here,” Smith said. “We have ASB who does things in the Quad during lunch every day, and they put together assemblies like Homecoming and the Heritage Fair. The Screamin’ Scots go crazy at the football games, and the rest of the sports also have a lot of school pride. Whenever the school comes together for something- that’s what I think represents Carlmont the best.”

Student Body President Kelly Robinson thinks that how Carlmont changes the lives of its students is the most important feature of the school. “Carlmont is a different

school depending on what you’re into,” she said, “but everybody has something here for them. They’re changed by what they do here.”

Robinson went on to say that going to Carlmont has changed who she is as a person. “It’s where I made my friends that I spend every minute with,” she said.

“It’s shaped my views, my opinions about everything. Carlmont has changed me for the better.”

So, what is the right answer to, “What is Carlmont?” Robinson put it best when she simply said: “Carlmont is my home away from home.”

Carlmont Communication

Continued from front

communicating information to students.

Zamora highlighted that there is a distinction between who retains information, and who doesn’t. “Retaining information is, in my view, based on the will of the person.

Will the person do what they can to receive the info? Or will they not? It depends on how it important to the person it is to be informed,” said Zamora.

It is solely up to the person for whether or not they desire to receive the information given to them. Carlmont students are faced with this option on a daily basis.

Bryan Ding, a junior, commented on efforts to communicate at Carlmont. “There are many different ways that information gets communicated at school, but I think that there aren’t enough people who listen to the announcements carefully or read the newspaper for school info,” said Ding.

Announcements seem to be the center of attention when students are asked about communication at Carlmont.

“We do listen to them, but once the announcements turn on everyone is kind of relieved that it’s lunch so we just kind of lose focus and chill, but we’re aware of what the announcements are saying. But its kind of like a reminder for students that class is over. I think that it would be better if we did it first thing in the morning,” said freshman, Kansha Sengupta.

Ding added his opinion for a better solution to communicate. “More video announcements would be better, and maybe more club fairs for club information,” said Ding.

At the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year, a very popular form of communication was video announcements. These proved to be an effective way of communicating information to the student body, as it was more likely for students to receive the information on video, rather than through the PA system.

However, due to a series of technical difficulties and lack of participation from teachers, video announcements have been discontinued for the remainder of the year.

“Our communication efforts are great, but we are continually trying to improve. There is an on-going effort to see what else we can do,” Zamora said.

In hindsight, Carlmont reaches out to various branches of the community through communication. Whether it is to parents, teachers, or students, the information is out there. It all comes down to a person’s will to receive the message.

Photo by Dana Bloom

Fun Stuff

Horoscopes

Photo by Dana Bloom

“First semester is pretty bad with college aps, but once you hit second semester, it’s a breeze.”

- Olivia Reidy, Senior

“Just think about how little time left you have here and it’ll help you get through it.”

- Ryan Ahrling, Senior

Photo by Dana Bloom

“There’s no cure, sorry.”

- Beau Armstrong, Senior

“Good luck because it’s hard to deal with.”

- Jenna Castillo, Senior

“Take easy classes, but don’t go below your standards.”

- Avalon Pellegrini, Senior

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Word Search

PATRICK HARP RAINBOW IRELAND SHAMROCK IRISH SNAKES CELTIC LEPRECHAUN CROSS LUCKY GOLD MARCH GREEN

Did You Know?

• Serving ice cream on cherry pie was once illegal in Kansas.

• 2.5 cans of Spam are consumed every second in the United States.

• The average price for a major league baseball game in 2004 is $19.82.

• Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

• The letter “J” does not appear anywhere on the periodic table of the elements.

• The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

• The human body makes anywhere from 1 to 3 pints of saliva every 24 hours.

• The adult human body requires about 88 lbs of oxygen daily.

• More than one million miles of Twizzlers licorice is made each year • A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.

• A mother hen turns her egg approximately 50 times in a day. http://www.greatfacts.com/

Photo by Dana Bloom

C o m i c

Seniors, what advice do you have to give about “Senioritis”?

Photo by Dana Bloom

M a r c h

Talk Back

Photo by Prestige Portraits

Aries: Communications is the key this month. You will be more mentally active and alert with lots of activity, short trips, calls, meetings and discussions. Don’t forget to fit in some time for food and sleep!

Taurus: Your heart opens to love this month and your mind wanders off into dreamland.

You will feel an increase in energy and self confidence, so this is a good time to take risks.

Gemini: Avoid an argument this month with a sibling. If you’re in a bad mood, try to keep it to yourself until you can talk it out with someone who understands you. Try to take out frustration by cleaning your room, which is probably pretty messy.

Cancer: This is a month to slow down and just take it easy. Part of you will want to go and the other part will want to stay still. It’s a tough call, but just remember not to overcommit yourself to a project or to your friends. You will feel more like socializing at the end of the month.

Leo: It could be safe to say that your friends could be planning ways to ruin your love life this month as a prank. Or it could be the other way around. Either way, be aware that there will be friction. You could also be feeling some restrictions that rub you the wrong way, too. Patience is a virtue. Don’t go ballistic until you have all the facts.

Virgo: You are pumped up this month with lots of adrenalin, intense desires, and a very strong will to get what you want. Unfortunately, the likelihood of getting yourself into trouble because of this extra strong ego is higher.

Libra: Learning to say “no” is a good idea. Even though it’s hard to say that to the friends you love, you shouldn’t spread yourself so thin with commitments. It’s an excellent time to focus on any unsolved issues first.

Scorpio: You will have extra strength and courage this month to achieve your goals, but you must channel this aggressive energy safely and constructively. This means taking into consideration the needs of other people, trying to find win-win situations.

Sagittarius: Someone wants you to get closer -- can you do it? Your mood may not be perfectly serene, but if you can take things to the next level with this person, you should find it easier to proceed.

Capricorn: The job scene is popping with excitement this month. New challenges and opportunities could be right around the corner. If you have any suggestions, write them down and hand them in to the boss. They’ll be well received.

Aquarius: Your romantic life is going to be a whirlwind this month. Avoid any major confrontations and let problems settle themselves. Blend into the background and take notes on what’s going on around you.

Pisces: This is an excellent time for home improvement projects, inside or out. Ideas seem to flow in during the last three weeks of the month. Try painting your room a different color, planting a garden, or reorganizing the pictures on your walls.

Page 13

Sports

Page 14

By Ivan Garin Staff Writer

As spring sports begin, many students prepare for their last season of high school sports before summer begins. For seniors, this will be their chance to prove themselves as superior high school athletes before their college career starts.

This month’s student-athlete of the month is senior Adam Fecher, a star on Carlmont’s swim team.

Fecher started swimming at the young age of six, and excelled as a member of the Peninsula Covenant Aquatics team. As his speed increased, he earned notorious time standards including Junior Olympic and Far Westerns cuts. He emerged as one of the top backstrokers in the Bay Area.

One of his most memorable swims was at age 15 when he finished 5th at Junior Olympics in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 2:05.86.

Although his talents lie in swimming, Fecher is known for his multiple sports accomplishments, mostly in aquatic sports.

Earlier this fall, he returned for his fourth year on Carlmont’s varsity water polo team as it’s captain and leading scorer.

Known for his work ethic and ability

Photo by Lisa Staton

Athlete of the month: Adam Fecher

to turn on his “game face” when the time comes, Fecher’s teammate from water polo Julien Lavanchy states, “Adam is known for the hard work he puts in and how intense he can get. He’s also a really fast swimmer which helps him juke everybody“.

Apparently the coaches in his division agree, as this year he was voted second team all star for his plays in the more competitive Ocean league.

Fecher’s four years on varsity water polo combined with his four years on varsity swim team makes him one of the few athletes at Carlmont to have eight varsity

letters.

During his high school swimming career, Fecher’s proudest accomplishment is a 4th place finish in the 500 yard freestyle at last years PAL championships.

At last years dual meet with Woodside, the men’s varsity win came down to the last 4 x 100 freestyle relay where Fecher anchored the team. He dove in two body lengths behind the Woodside team and managed to make up enough ground to make it a close race.

Unfortunately, he was just touched out by one tenth of a second, but his split was a full three seconds faster than his best time.

In a race that is measured by hundredths of seconds, a full three seconds are considered a lifetime. For his effort, he was granted the swimmer of the meet award.

In terms of school records, Adam was a

key member of last years 200 yard freestyle relay which notched an 11th place finish at CCS and broke one of Carlmont’s oldest records.

Although his swimming has earned him media attention in newspapers such as the San Jose Mercury News, Fecher manages to juggle extracurriculars and a job on the side.

Fecher states that “Although it can be overwhelming at times, I understand how important my schoolwork is.” He still knows how to enjoy himself at school, stating that “Green tech and ASB are by far my favorite classes because of how they feel different than most classes.”

His cumulative GPA of 3.7 says it all, and he is known as an A student in most of his classes, many of which are advanced or AP. Hoping to major in civil engineering in college, Fecher believes that classes such as ASB have “helped me learn how to become a natural leader”.

After graduating Carlmont, Fecher hopes to get accepted into the University of California Santa Cruz, where he will swim on their highly ranked swim team.

As he dives into his last swim season, Fecher hopes to continue his good grades and earn a CCS berth to raise his swimming to the next level.

Carlmont lacrosse works hard to win

Athletes push themselves to start off strong in second season Carlmont’s lacrosse team started their second season at the beginning of February.

Though the team had a rough first season last year, winning only one out of the 11 games, the players are determined to start the new year with a stronger foot forward.

In preparation for the upcoming season, the coaches made the players go through intense try-outs followed by early morning practices where the boys had to wake up at 5:30 a.m. in order to get there on time.

Junior Connor Swanson, last year’s team captain, said, “We get up really early and then put full effort into our practice.”

Practices were held from 6:00 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. before school, which gives the players 20 minutes to shower and change before classes start.

Due to the fact that it was dark at 6 in the morning, the players began their practices in the gym, working on their agility until it became light enough outside so that they were able play on the field.

However, on March 12, they started to have afternoon practices at around 5:30 p.m., after track finishes their own practice.

Sleep is not the only thing the lacrosse

team has to give up; the equipment and the sport itself costs a lot of money.

When asked, junior Shane Rebholtz said that for school the players are required to pay $350, not including personal items, such as a stick, gloves and pads.

Rebholtz said that he paid more for his $100 gloves, $20 for his pads, and $130 for his stick, an overall extra of $250.

Carlmont also added a frosh-soph lacrosse team this year in addition to varsity. The freshman and sophomores are very excited for their first season, as the team has more experienced players that add to the team’s games.

Frosh-soph’s team captains include

Photo by Chris Leong

By Chloe Scott Staff Writer

sophomores Silas Pang and Henson Kwok, and freshman Cole Lotti, who were chosen by the lacrosse coach based on selfimprovement.

The team had their first non-league game on Feb. 27 against Palo Alto High School, but frosh-soph lost 14 to 4, and Varsity also lost 12-1.

According to Kwok, a sophomore on frosh-soph, “The first half was going good,

but then during the second half, we started getting our butts kicked. Part of the problem was that we didn’t have enough subs, so we were getting really tired.”

One thing that the frosh-soph players can all agree on is the fact that playing together really let them see how everyone worked as a team and what their biggest team improvements needed to be.

Kwok also thinks that something they really need to work on is motivation and enthusiasm within the team environment.

The first two teams that Carlmont lacrosse played against were in a higher division and neither game counted towards their actual record. In the actual season, varsity currently has a 1-0 record after beating Leland on March 8.

Junior K.C. Montgomery commented, “It’s not our first year, so I hope we win more than one game.”

Swanson also has higher expectations for this year, as he stated, “This year will be better because there are more people who are more experienced.”

The team continues to keep their spirits up, train diligently and hope for a better year the second time around.

Golf team hopes for another great season

By Ryan Hogan Staff Writer Golf at Carlmont is a very underrated sport and doesn't receive the respect and attention that it deserves. Golf is not an easy game, but despite its demanding concentration and technique, Carlmont golf players make it look like a cake walk.

The Carlmont golf team is a competitor in the Peninsula Athletic League and is always seen in the top of the rankings.

In recent years, the Carlmont Golf team

has been drastically improving, evident through their PAL rankings in the previous years.

In 2009 they finished second in the Peninsula Athletic League, as well as a tie for first in the 2010 golf season, although they were not granted a Central Coast Section berth because Menlo-Atherton had a better score overall. To top it all off, they finished last year with a perfect undefeated season.

The Scots have become a PAL powerhouse under their head coach Patrick Smith, who is simultaneously the Athletic Director

at Carlmont.

This year the Scots have some big shoes to fill with the absence of last year’s all-star senior, Patrick Soli, who now plays for the San Jose State Spartan golf team. Some of this year’s returning players include Ryan Tierney, Andrew Witt, Luke Li, and Jacob Rudger. With that lineup, Carlmont will be a force to be reckoned with on the Peninsula.

Recently Andrew Witt broke his wrist and will be unable to compete for the majority of the upcoming season, but will hopefully be returning to a CCS-bound Carlmont

team.

So far, the Scots have competed in one match against Hillsdale High School. They showed the Peninsula that they are to be taken seriously this year. They made a statement by destroying the Knights by 30 strokes.

According to senior Ryan Tierney, the Scots are “prepared for the upcoming season and are confident in results after all the hard work put in.” This year’s schedule is not going to be easy, but with the confidence and hard work put in, the Carlmont golf team should end the season satisfied.

Sports

Page 15

The price of a being an athlete Carlmont students pay overwhelming amounts of money for sports teams

By Grace Chang Staff Writer

Sports at Carlmont cost a lot of money, but where does all that money come from? “[The supplies fund this year] was used to fully or partially to pay for cross country uniforms, football helmets, knee pads, weight belts, flags and caps for water polo, team jackets for volleyball, a new bench for the tennis court, backstroke flags for swimming, bleachers and lights for the nighttime football games, team basketball bags, cheer team expenses, a timing system for the track team, and ice for the trainer,” said athletic director Patrick Smith.

The Associated Student Body has a team supplies fund used to pay for requests from coaches or teams. This year the supplies fund at the beginning of the year was $16,250.

Besides the team supplies fund, there are also ASB club accounts and ASB expense accounts.

Teams who do fundraisers or receive donations place the money into the ASB club accounts. This is used by the coaches for equipment and other supplies for the team.

ASB expense accounts are for teams that entail using additional expenses for their games. The balance in the ASB expense accounts differ based on how much the teams

require for their games to be played.

Sports that have the ASB expense accounts include football, water polo, volleyball, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, golf, and swimming.

Carlmont’s sport teams also receive two further sources of funding.

One source was $3,500 that is used by athletic director Patrick Smith’s discretion.

This year he decided to use it to buy a new controller for the football scoreboard, used by football, soccer, and lacrosse. He also intends to buy new lane lines for the swimming pool.

The second fund comes from the athletic booster club generous donations. They donated over $45,000 to the athletic teams this year.

The athletic booster club also donated an extra $2,800 for lights for the night football games.

In addition to the funds, athletes are also required to buy certain equipment on their own.

Lacrosse player Simon Pugliano had to pay $350 to the school for a helmet, a jersey, and for bus rides to the games. Furthermore, he had to buy cleats, a lacrosse stick, shoulder pads, gloves, elbow pads, and mouth guards, all which piled up to a very large expense.

“It is very expensive to play lacrosse because you have to buy your own equipment and pay another $350 to play, but it is worth it.” said Pugliano.

Track and field and cross country athlete Mei-Lin Okino is required to buy spikes that usually range from $100 and running shoes that range from $125. She also needs to buy clothing such as shorts, shirts, sweats, and jackets. This year the school provided track and field athletes with jerseys; however, they were still required to buy shorts on their own.

“Initially it is an investment, and it is not as pricey as other sports. Track and cross country are low tech sports, so there is no need to buy equipment in the future,” stated Okino.

Water polo and swimming competitor Nicole Heller had to buy a $60 team suit for swimming, $80 suit for water polo, and additional practice suits that range from $40 to $60. She also had to buy goggles, caps, and fins which, when added up, can reach as much as $70.

“It is expensive to be on the water polo and swimming team, but all sports cost money.” said Heller.

Tennis athlete Byron Wu is required to have one tennis racket that range from $180 to $250; however, he recommends having

at least two rackets. In addition, Wu needs to have tennis shoes that are $70, shorts that range from $10 to $20, and a school uniform for $80.

Wu said “I break my strings once every one and a half months, which costs from $20 to $40 to restring, and tennis shoes wear down easily.”

Many other athletes also agree that participating in sports is quite costly.

Soccer player Laura Bowker said that “soccer cleats, which range from $60 to $100, can break easily and sometimes you go through a pair of cleats every season.”

Tennis athlete Tarliyn Won said “it is expensive because actual tennis clothing is very expensive; shirts are $20 to $30.”

However there are some athletes that believe that it doesn’t also need to cost so much.

Badminton player Brent Tom said, “I think that if you are serious in badminton and need to get all the proper stuff it is expensive, but if you are okay with having just one racket, wearing any athletic shoes, and doesn’t need an actual badminton bag, then it’s not that expensive. The only thing that is costly is the uniform.”

Carlmont students continue to dedicate their time and money to sports with the start of the 2012 spring season.

Paying vs. Playing: what sports consume the most time and money? $1200

How much does it cost to play your sport per season?

High school sports require both time and money from athletes.

Students are expected to have their own equipment which can cost hundreds of dollars and in some cases athletes even have to pay money to play the sport. In addition to the cost, sports take up student’s time after school.

The amount of time; however, is different for every sport.

$1000

$800

$600

Water Polo

Track

Tennis

Swimming

Softball

Soccer

Lacrosse

Golf

Football

Cross Country

Baseball

Graphed data was compiled by averaging the numbers given by students who participated in an online survey. Some sports are not included due to inconclusive data or not enough participants.

Basketball

$400

How many hours per day is your practice?

$200

3 hours 2.5 Hours 2 Hours

Water Polo

Volleyball

Track

Tennis

Swimming

Softball

Soccer

Lacrosse

Golf

1 Hour

Football

Cross Country

Basketball

Baseball

1.5 Hours

0.5 Hours

Page 16

Sports

Scots in action: Go Big or go home Photos by Grace Chang, Lisa Staton, Chris Leong and Gianna Dimick