The Giants win the pennant! Carlmont loves the team and its young catcher. See page 11 for more
(Photo by Karl Mondon/ Contra Costa Times/MCT)
INSIDE:
Why don’t we have permanent lights? Are night games better? See page 10 for details
The Highlander Carlmont High School Newspaper Volume II, Issue 2 October 2010 See us online at http://scotscoop.com
too old to Concussions: hidden danger Teens Trick or Treat? By: Connor Moore Staff Writer
Here’s a hypothetical scenario: A football player makes a huge hit in a Homecoming football game. The crowd goes wild, but the player who made the hit has a horrible headache. He wants to finish the game, so he stays in, and continues to perform well. The next week at practice the coach blows the whistle to start hitting drills, and the star player who made that same hit just a week ago gets hit in the head again. Boom. He goes down, but you would expect him to get up and continue on with practice. Right? Wrong. He is unconscious, only speaking in order to ask for some “Corn Smacks” and is rushed to a hospital to be treated for bleeding in his brain that could bench him for the rest of his career. What neither he, the coaches, the rest of his team nor the spectators knew was that this player had suffered a concussion in that Homecoming game. In practice he suffered a more powerful higher impact concussion because his brain was already injured from the original concussion and susceptible to serious damage. Had he understood the signs, precautions and consequences of concussions, he probably would’ve walked off the field with his brain intact, but he didn’t. His brain suffered inter-cranial bleeding and he will never play again. This of course is a hypothetical scenario, but unfortunately situations like this are happening with greater frequency across the country. As new equipment is designed, better hitting techniques are taught, and inten-
By Ashley Dierolf Online Editor
Joshua Brass goes head to head against an opposing player from Skyline during the varsity football game. Photo by Gianna Dimick sity increases; the basics seem to get lost in translation. Little slip-ups and situations that leave sports players vulnerable such as loss of form, and being fatigued lead to injuries in sports. The competitive nature in sports picks up as athletes enter high school sports, and consequently so do the high-impact injuries suffered by those who play them without the proper precautions. Concussions have taken sports of all kinds by storm. And as technology and education directed towards the subject of concussions becomes more advanced,
scientists, doctors and neurologists are starting to find that concussions are not to be taken lightly. The Sports Concussion Institute has reported that around 10% of high school athletes in contact sports suffer concussions annually. The number of sports related concussions suffered by high school students in the U.S. is estimated to be almost 3.8 million each year, doubling nearly two-fold within the decade. What makes concussions so dangerous is the fact that the injury is internal, and
Homecoming explained
Photo by Arik Schoessow
By Shannon Chang Staff Writer
From the spirit days to the football game to the dance, homecoming has something for everyone. But not many people know what it is really about or why it is important. Every year, groups of friends design shirts for the dance together and go to the homecoming game. While some look forward to the dance, others enjoy watching or playing in the football game more. Homecoming is defined as the tradition of welcoming back alumni and returning students to that school or institution. There are many possible origins of homecoming, but the most prominent is from the University of Missouri’s football game in 1911. According to the new conference regulation rules at the time, the Kansas Jayhawks and the Missouri Tigers had to play on one of the team’s home field, not just at any field.
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To reignite the flame of passion for football, the Tigers’ athletic director, Chester Brewer successfully invited nearly 10,000 alumni to “come home” for the football game. The Kansas Jayhawks and the Missouri Tigers tied 3 - 3. This model has spread to high schools and colleges all over the United States. The Missouri Tigers’ game helped to create the type of homecoming we know today. At our school, homecoming is the our biggest spirit event, and the most widely attended football game. Even though 100 years has gone by, homecoming is still
celebrated throughout the United States of America and some parts of Canada. At Carlmont, however, “Homecoming is celebrating school spirit,” sophomore Luke Li stated. Out of the many school events during the year, homecoming is the biggest spirit event, and the most widely attended football game. Another big tradition is having a homecoming court. The homecoming king and queen are supposed to be people who contribute to the school a lot, but many high schools have stopped the homecoming court because of bullying.
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Halloween is known for candy, costumes, and celebrating with friends. However, for those who can’t go out or don’t want to go to a party, it can become a confusing time when presented with a tricky question: to trick-or-treat, or not to trick-or-treat. It seems like the older students become, the less likely it is to see them out knocking on doors and asking for candy with little kids on Halloween. Many people think that once someone is old enough to drive or get a job, they’re old enough to stop mooching candy off their neighbors as well. “It’s for kids,” replied Megan James, “You should stop trick-or-treating when you reach high school. We’re older and mature and should be doing different things during Halloween.” Residents of Belleville, Illinois even went as far as passing an ordinance that bans teenagers in ninth-grade and up from trick-or-treating due to “kids knocking on doors after 9 at night” and “the seniors being especially scared” according to upi.com. For kids in elementary and middle school, the ordinance also sets a curfew of no trick-or-treating after 9 pm. If one were to not comply with this ordinance, they would be subject to a $25 fine. “It would be terrible if Belmont banned Halloween,” said Andrea Gonzalez, “What would we do during Halloween? I’d go to a different city or find a friend with a younger sibling.”
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Chlorine affecting students By Christina Belasco Editor-in-chief
Chlorine is a chemical used to keep pools sanitary, however it can come along with some nasty side affects. Many players on the Scots water polo teams have experienced this first-hand. Though scientists consider chlorine to be one of the most toxic chemicals in nature, the number of people actually allergic to it is very small. Among those affected were varsity players Elodie Stephan, Hannah Liitschwager, and Amanda Denney. The chlorine affected Liitschwager so much that “Her vision was blurred, and she couldn’t even see well enough to drive. She had to pull over so that Amanda could take over for her,” recalled Stephan. Even though the chlorine has been affecting many people negatively, there is in fact nothing wrong with the pool or
Photo by Alex Porter
how it is taken care of. According to Jerome Harris, the plant manager here at Carlmont “We check the pool twice every day and take readings of the chlorine levels. If it isn’t in the safe zone, I don’t allow pool access.” The state regulated levels are from 1.0-5.0. “Usually our pool is kept at 3.5,” Harris went on to say. One day it was found that the chlorine reading was at 8.0 which is obviously in the unregulated zone, so to fix this the staff responded immediately and placed extra amounts of sodium
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