Vol. XLVI, No. 9

VOL. XLVI, NO.9

MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL

June 3, 2011

2010-2011: then and now 41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539

graphics editor sarah li, archives

By Allan Ko and Mekala Neelakantan Staff Writers In light of recent cuts to the California (CA) education budget, the Smoke Signal is investigating where these cuts are being made and if they are being distributed evenly and fairly along the admin-

istrative ladder. Teachers have expressed dissatisfaction with federal apportionment of money as negotiations for the 2011-12 FUSD teachers’ contract continue, and eyebrows rose when one teacher found that according to data released by the University of California (UC) to www.sfgate.com, certain UC employees are earning

June 4 Family Festival MSJ Football Field, 10 am-5 pm

sizable amounts of money.

The released data shows that in the 2006-07 fiscal year, 17,715 UC employees earned salaries of more than $100,000, five of whom were paid more than $1 million.

In 2008, this number increased to 21,624 high-earning employees, of whom eight were paid more than $1 million. These employees

June 10 Senior Check-out in the B-Wing at 12:15 pm

include professors, coaches, and executive officers such as the UC President and chancellor.

In the UC system, base yearly salaries for employees start as low as $50,000, and can range up to $200,000 or more, depending on position and seniority. In addition, employees earn overtime pay as well as “extra pay” for undisclosed

June 10, 13-14 Final Exams 12:10 pm Release

June 13 Graduation at TAK Stadium 7 pm

services. For example, UC Berkeley Head Coach of Intercollegiate Athletics Jeff Tedford earned $225,000 as a base salary and approximately $2.3 million in extra pay with no overtime, resulting in a gross salary of more than $2.5

See WAGES, NEWS Page 3

June 14 Last Day of School, Have a Fabulous Summer!

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Friday, June 3, 2011

News in Brief Pope speaks with astronauts On May 21, Pope Benedict XVI spoke with Commander Mark Kelly and the other astronauts aboard the International Space Station. He specifically mentioned Kelly’s wife, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who is recovering from a January assassination attempt.

The group also discussed how space technologies, such as those that harness energy from the sun, can possibly help relationships between people on Earth.

blippitt.com

ISS astronauts speak to Pope Benedict XVI from outer space via live chat. Kelly is in the front row, second from right.

Digital dating abuse rises Recently, stories of teen dating abuse have been appearing in the news. However the majority of these cases involve emotional bullying, rather than physical violence, delivered via digital means such as Facebook, instant messaging, email, or texting.

A Cyberbullying Research Center study found that one in 10 teens have received intimidating digital messages from a boyfriend or girlfriend, while six percent have been embarrassed online by a significant other. The frequent occurrences of dating abuse have led several organizations, including MTV, to initiate anti-dating violence campaigns. These organizations hope to emphasize that there is always help and support for teen victims of digital dating abuse.

MSJ teacher authors book

By Ditha Balaji Staff Writer

thediablodispatch.com

Teens continue to face emotional abuse through digital messages.

CA prisons out of space After a 5-4 ruling on May 23, 2011, the Supreme Court ordered California to release 33,000 prison inmates. State prison systems have been restricted to 110,000 inmates, due to previously found violations of inmate rights. Justice Antonin Scalia called the planned release “perhaps the most radical injunction issued by a court in our nation’s history.” It remained unclear after the ruling how long it would take before California prison officials would be forced to release inmates or what the criteria for who gets released will be.

csmonitor.com

At overcrowded prisons like the CA State Prison in Los Angeles (above), inmates will be released due to lack of space.

COMPILED BY STAFF WRITERS FRANK CHEN, SAVINA KHANGURA, AND ALEKYA RAJANALA

The Curry Club, by MSJ’s own Social Science teacher, Risha Krishna, co-written by Trevor Neeb, revolves around the life of two racially unique teenagers braving their new environment in search of acceptance and balance.

The Smoke Signal sat down with Krishna to discuss the novel, her experience as an author, and her personal stories behind the work.

Smoke Signal: Describe your book. What audience is it aimed toward?

Risha Krishna: It’s definitely for teenagers. It’s probably a 6th through 12th grade read. [The book] is definitely a coming of age read. It [involves] two girls, an Indian and an Ecuadorian/ Guatemalan girl who are growing up in Southern California. It’s about them and their assimilation process. So, it’s really them saying “How can we be ourselves but still assimilate into the greater community?” For example, Ashwarya, [is] very proud to be an Indian, but [is] not governed by her ethnicity.

SS: What was your inspiration for the book?

RK: In 2004, I went to South Africa on a Fulbright Scholarship, and one of the things that I was supposed to do [while I was there] was keep a writing journal. Getting into the habit of writing every day and having to post these daily reflections for the Fulbright Commission, I just got into writing. It was a five-week project and that practice of writing inspired me to want to write.

SS: How did you meet your coauthor?

RK: Trevor and I met in grad school, [while] he was in the masters program for social studies [with me]. We ended up doing our stories together because we understand each other’s writing style and we did a lot of writing projects at Stanford. In 2005, I emailed Trevor Neeb and asked him if he was still writing and if he [would like] to get together [to do] some writing. It took us about 4-5 years to put our book together, but we were definitely able to

See KRISHNA, NEWS Page 4

for the april 21, 2011 issue Feature page 10: Staff Writer Nihar Parikh took photos.

Centerspread page 11: Junior Manaswini Avvari’s name was misspelled.

Centerspread page 14: Alumna Negar Pirooz’s name was misspelled.

staff writers ditha balaji, jonathon teng aishwarya thakur, & angie wang

No building--yet

By Alice Zalan Staff Writer Earlier in the year, the Smoke Signal reported on the possibility of having a new two-story building built on MSJ’s campus by the fall of 2011.

The plan called for six portables to be removed from the P-Wing and replaced with the new structure, the first floor being primarily dedicated to the Special Education Department.

There will also be a space reserved

for busing for Special Education students, many of whom come to MSJ from all over Fremont. However, the plan has been put on hold until the summer of 2012. Assistant Principal Carlisle Kim said, “The reason that the new building is not going to be able to be completed this summer is because the funding that was set aside for the building from the federal government was frozen in early spring.”

It remains to be seen what will happen in the year to come. ▪

Dresses for charity

By Stephenie Yuan Staff Writer Since the 1800s, prom, a traditional formal dance, has been held as a means of instilling social skills and etiquette into teenagers as a rite of passage into adulthood. Today they have become all-night affairs featuring stretch limos, fancy dresses, tuxedoes, and after-prom activities where anything goes.

Prom, short for promenade, has become an essential part of high school. “It’s prom!” has simply become the reason for teenagers to attend the event. However, there are some people that can not afford all that goes with prom.

With prom season just around the corner, Peer Resource is holding a prom dress drive on the MSJ campus. The dresses will be collected from now through June 10 and sent to an organization called Becca’s Closet. Becca’s Closet collects and distributes dresses and also awards

Donated prom dresses.

graphics editor sarah li

education scholarship to recognize young men and women for their spirits of generosity in their own communities. Students can drop off gently worn or new dresses to donate in Social Science Teacher Jaime Richards’ room B-33. The goal is to collect 100 dresses by the end of the year. When the goal is reached, Richards will wear a dress to school during his classes. A raffle will be held and the three donors who send in the most number of dresses will receive Chipotle certificates for four Chipotle burritos with guacamole, soft drinks, chips, and salsa. ▪

Friday, June 3, 2011

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WAGES | CAs money distribution raises questions continued from page 1 million in 2008 alone.

These high salaries seem unjustified to many teachers and parents who are worried that money is being slashed from the bottom, affecting primary and secondary school classrooms, instead of affecting the top universities and high-earning professors. As US History Teacher Bill Jeffers says, “The state of California can’t be serious about educational funding when it cuts billions of dollars from primary education, while overseeing a UC system that pays 21,000 individuals over $100,000 per year, including coaches making over $2 million per year.”

However, these numbers and statistics may be misleading, as they do not disclose information such as the specifics of the pay in the “Other” category which comprises most of the gross salary. It is unspecified how much of these high earners’ salaries comes from federal funding, and how much

comes from other sources. For example, a UC San Francisco neurologist might be listed as earning $700,000 per year, but it may be that he earns $500,000 of his salary performing brain surgery. Then, only $200,000 of his $700,000 comes from the CA education budget, paid to him for teaching at UC San Francisco.

In the coming issues, the Smoke Signal will continue an in-depth investigation and statistical analysis of this situation by attempting to contact some of these high-earning employees, as well as uncovering hard data concerning budget cuts and how evenly they are distributed. We will also contact some of the UC schools to find the specific reasons for and sources of the “Other Pay” given to these high-earners, explore possible solutions to the current budget situation, and consider the effects of redistributing budget cuts and federal funding to different areas of the CA education system. ▪

staff writers allan ko and mekala neelakantan

staff writer allan ko

Seniors’ day off is not entirely welcome

By Megan McLaughlin News Editor

For once, the administration has told the seniors, it’s okay to stay home from school.

Unfortunately, this free day is June 14, the last day of high school. Normally a day reserved for yearbook signing and final goodbyes, the seniors will spend this day away from the teachers, classrooms, and friends with which they have spent four years.

This odd turn of events is due to the FUSD graduation schedule. The five Fremont high schools all cycle through TAK Fudenna Stadium for graduation, and 2011 is MSJ’s turn to graduate first. As a result, the Board of Education will declare the seniors as graduated on June 13, one day before school

lets out for summer vacation.

Because the group has graduated, they will not be allowed on campus for the final day of school. Assistant Principal Diana Brumbaugh acknowledged that this decision follows a precedent set by other schools whose seniors graduated before the school year officially ends. “[School on] Tuesday needs to be a quiet place for other students” who

have finals to take, Brumbaugh said. “To have [seniors] on campus with nothing to do is a safety and security issue.”

To prevent disruptions by the Class of 2011, they may not be on campus on June 14.

If they do try to attend classes, they will be asked to leave. Brumbaugh says that visitors’ passes will not be issued to these now-former students.

“To have [seniors] on campus with nothing to do is a safety and security issue.”

-Diana Brumbaugh, Assistant P rincipal

Understandably, the Class of 2011 is divided over the extra day of vacation. Some students favor it, like Senior Bill Cheng, who asks, “Who is going to complain about an extra day of vacation? Not me, that’s for sure.” Senior Allen Leiyoung disagrees: “I feel disappointed that seniors can’t even share a ‘last day’ with all the other students as other graduating classes had in past years.” Between the ends of the spectrum is Senior Eugenia Chung, who views the situation more pragmatically. “It’s not a bad thing. You could hang out or go to the beach or something for the last day of school.”

Seniors wishing to pick up diplomas may get them from the office anytime between 8 am and 3 pm during the week of Monday, June 20. ▪

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Friday, June 3, 2011

US shuttles bow out of space race

universe-beauty.com

By Omar El-Sadany Staff Writer

orlandosentinel.com

Endeavour lifts off on its final journey on May 16, 2010. An earlier departure was cancelled due to an electrical problem.

At school, when preschoolers and kindergartners talk about what they want to be when they grow up, there are always many who wish to

be policemen and firefighters and presidents. Then there are those who aspire to be astronauts, and hope to walk on the moon or discover life on Mars. With the impending retirement of NASA’s Space Transportation System (STS), however, those dreams may have to be put on hold.

For almost 30 years, the STS has been launching shuttles, manned by five to eight astronauts, on a wide variety of missions. These operations include carrying cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS), crew rotation at the ISS, and service and repair missions.

The retirement of the Discovery, one of three remaining operational shuttles, at the Smithsonian on March 9, 2011 represented the first step towards the program’s withdrawal. The Endeavour was launched for a final mission in May 2011, and the last launch of the ultimate orbiter, the Atlantis, is scheduled to occur in July.

The mandated retirement of the program comes as a result of former President George W. Bush’s 2004 Vision for Space Exploration.

Bush’s program called for shutting down of the STS in response to the Columbia disaster, financial issues, and the regressing state of human spaceflight within the organization. The policy also planned for advancements in both robotic and man-led missions on the moon and Mars. While the program has since been replaced by President Barack Obama’s space policy, the cancellation of the Space Shuttle program has not been avoided.

Many steps have been taken to attempt to fill the void that will be created by the absence of the STS. The Constellation, a program created by NASA, attempted to send astronauts to the ISS, the moon, and possibly even Mars. The program began developing new spacecraft and booster vehicles. However, upon review by the Obama admin-

istration, it was not included in the February 2010 budget, cited by the President as “behind schedule and lacking motivation.”

This cancellation of government sponsored space shuttle launches may be the first of a shifting trend towards the commercialization of the industry. As of now, the only viable method for US crews to access the ISS is through the Russian Soyuz vehicle, a costly venture, costing approximately $55 million per seat. NASA commented on the situation saying that, “These services are serving as a bridge between the Space Shuttle and the availability of a commercial vehicle. Until a commercial vehicle is available, continued access to Russian Crew launch, return, and rescue services is essential for planned ISS operations and utilization by all ISS partners.”

However NASA has already taken steps to ensure the transition to the private sector. Among its initiatives include the Commercial

Orbital Transportation Services, a contract that NASA has awarded to the SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation for resupply of the ISS. Another program is the Commercial Crew Development, which is funded by the US government and encourages private corporations to research and develop in the human spaceflight sector.

It seems that with a declining economy, the government will be less able to divert more money to programs such as NASA. With these depleted funds, the US may face a shift in the control of the space industry to foreign nations, such as Russia. In addition, with more money shifted towards the private sector, NASA may undergo the commercialization of all of its programs. And who knows? Maybe within the near future these companies will sell tickets to the moon, just as we purchase airline tickets today. ▪

SS: Does this book have any correlation to Mission students?

RK: We [Trevor and I] have definitely gleaned from our students’ experiences. For me specifically,

By Frank Chen Staff Writer

of where they want their donations to be sent. As of March 12, the main areas include post-earthquake Japan, American military support in the Middle East, immediate disaster relief, and your local Red Cross donation services. Text donations to the American Red Cross, made possible by the agency mGive, is another way in which money can be collected quickly and delivered to a disasterstricken area immediately.

The Salvation Army An Evangelical Christian church founded in 1865, The Salvation Army currently works in over a hundred countries worldwide, not only providing emergency disaster services, but also numerous programs that help the community as a whole.

Just like the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army has different ways in which people can give their monetary donations. According to The Salvation Army’s 2009 financial report, about 75 percent of The Salvation Army’s total expenses go to programs and services in the community as well as natural disaster target areas, while 12 percent go to general and administrative pur-

poses, and 13 percent go to fundraising. Donating online is similar to that of the American Red Cross; The Salvation Army has different relief and community project targets that one can send donations to.

The Salvation Army will also send a receipt to confirm the donations to make sure that they were properly received. Checks made payable to The Salvation Army are mailed to your local Salvation Army, which can be located through their online address search box.

KRISHNA | MSJ’s resident author continued from page 1

bring our experience and what we saw with our student population to the book. He has a big Latino population because he [teaches in] San Diego, and obviously I’m at MSJ with the Asian population.

SS: Why did you pick the 1980s and Irvine as your specific setting?

RK: I grew up in Irvine during the 80s so a lot of it [comes] from personal experiences. [These are] fictionalized stories but [they come] from what I observed and what I saw happen to my friends in the area.

SS: Is this book autobiographical in any way? What were your goals in writing it?

RK: A lot of it is fictionalized but [it] definitely has some autobiographical [elements]. I think about 20 to 30 percent [is] autobiographical anecdotes. We [Trevor and I] definitely wanted to show the immigrant experience: fitting in, coming of age, and assimilation. Also, [we wondered], how can a person sustain their individuality, [yet] be a part of a community.

SS: What are some major themes of this novel?

RK: Some major themes are coming of age [and] culture. The two main characters are very proud to be Latina and Indian but are continuously trying to find ways to assimilate [and to] embrace both of the cultures. A lot of [the book] contains teenage situations.

There’s [a lot] that a teenager has to face [while] being a minority in the area.

staff writer ditha balaji

Krishna reads aloud from her book during a book signing at the Fremont Main Library.

the students that I have are great kids. They juggle family expectations, their personal aspirations, and extracurricular activities to be the best candidate possible for college. What I’ve noticed with my students is that they might be born in the US, but they are so governed by the expectations of their respective cultures, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

I sometimes see a discrepancy between what they want and what their parents expect them to be.

SS: Do you plan to publish more books in the future?

RK: I definitely love writing, but publishing was a challenging process. I hope that this book does well. Maybe it will inspire us to do a sequel. ▪

Donate successfully

Every day, millions of people donate to various relief organizations to help those in need, but how do relief organizations handle this money?

Here are the various ways in which these organizations handle and distribute donations when disasters hit.

American Red Cross Founded in 1881, the American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, a humanitarian organization with approximately 97 million volunteers. American Red Cross is well known for its services in domestic and international disaster relief, such as the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

According to Charity Navigator, more than 90 percent of the donations made to Red Cross are used to help out possible disasters, while about 4.4 percent is used for administrative purposes and about 3.6 percent is used for fundraising.

There are various ways to donate through the Red Cross. When donating online, people have the choice

UNICEF An organization created by the United Nations General Assembly, UNICEF’s goal is to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that are devastated by warfare or natural disasters.

When it comes to online donations, UNICEF clearly outlines what respective monetary values represent the supplies that can be purchased.

According to Charity Navigator, 91.8 percent of UNICEF’s United States Fund is used for its program expenses while 2.6 percent is used for administrative expenses and 5.6 percent is used for fundraising. ▪

tŚĞƌĞ LJŽƵƌ ĚŽŶĂƟŽŶƐ ŐŽ͘​͘​͘ Red Cross Administrative Purposes - 4.4% Fundraising - 3.6% Disaster Relief and Community Progams - 92%

Administrative Purposes - 12% Fundraising - 13% Disaster Relief and Community Programs - 75%

The Salvation Army

UNICEF Administrative Purposes - 2.6% Fundraising - 5.6% Disaster Relief and Community Programs - 91.8% staff writers allan ko and mekala neelakantan

Friday, June 3, 2011

the

The Smoke Signal

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Mission San Jose High School Est. 1964 Vol. 46, No. 9 | June 3, 2011

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Roger That Looking out the Window

By Roger Chen

41717 Palm Ave. Fremont, CA 94539 (510) 657-3600 Editors-in-Chief Alissa Gwynn, Elisa Ting News Gurleen Chadha, Megan McLaughlin Opinion Roger Chen, Arthur Jeng Feature Sonia Dhawan, Audrey Wu Centerspread Aileen Lu, Tina Tseng A&E Vishal Yadav, Jordan Zhang Sports Grace Han, Amit Patankar Graphics Sarah Li, Cassie Zhang Web Mary Lan, Richie Zeng Tech Vaishaal Shankar, Kevin Zhai Business Ravneet Kaur Circulation Matt Farberov Fundraising Stephenie Yuan Marketing Jamie Lin Ads Rebecca Dutta, Joy Xu Events Chelsea Dass, Mekala Neelakantan, Diya Roy

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Vishal Bajpai, Ditha Balaji, Leland Bernstein, Anthony Chen, Frank Chen, Sloka Gundala, Andrew Han, Savina Khangura, Allan Ko, Sida Lu, Edward Nguyen, Nihar Parikh, Alekya Rajanala, Maya Ramachandran, Omar El Sadany, Sanjna Shukla, Courtney Tam, Jonathon Teng, Aishwarya Thakur, Angie Wang, Ginger Werner, Connor Williams, Ellie Wong, Michael Wu, Alice Zalan

Advisor Sandra Cohen Send letters to the editor to opinion@the smokesignal.org. Letters under 300 words may be considered for publication and must include a full name and school affiliation. The Smoke Signal reserves the right to edit for clarity and length.

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The Smoke Signal’s right to freedom of speech and press is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Opinion Editor

Finally, that time of graduation, where many speeches will be said and only several will be heard as the anxiety among seniors reaches a fever pitch to jump up, grab that diploma, smile, and then hit the graduation parties. Without much ado, here is one of many speeches that will never be spoken thanks to constraints.

Pardon my passion, but one of the reasons I have always had an affinity for mathematics is because of its inherent beauty in the natural world. The Fibonacci sequence is manifested in the proportions of the human body, the petals of flowers, the spirals of a conch. The number phi can be found in the most attractive rectangles to the human eye.

There are essentially two ways to address problems that don’t look very straightforward: either you can brute force your way through the problem, working through all the possible cases that you can think of in a systematic way, or you can take the information, work through several cases, then based on some previous knowledge, devise a way to elegantly solve the question.

There’s an inherent sense of satisfaction that you get when you solve a problem in that manner, the feeling that something just clicks. This doesn’t just apply to math: once you find the spark that makes things work, it is near impossible to let go.

It’s often hard to find something beautiful in what we do.

There’s so much in the world that

Opinion

5

get Jengky with it

By It, I Mean Life

By Arthur Jeng

just isn’t inspiring or interesting: the people that we dislike, the busy work that we’ve all had far too much of, the inane commentary that repeats itself over and over again inside our little cul-desac of the real world. We force ourselves through subjects that we have signed up for without developing a passion, something that makes us care. What do the grades on the transcript mean anymore?

Do they really reflect on what one has learned and retained, or are they merely indicators of how well we all played the game? Does that piece of paper really reflect on the kind of person that we are, how we have developed, what potential we have?

We graduate, year after year, every one of us taking on another journey to find new beginnings.

Some of us find what we need, freedom from the system that we’ve been classically conditioned to for all these years. Others of us get sucked into the system once again, just in a different desk in a different classroom. And in the end, what is it really but a decision we make, another crossroads where two roads diverge and we can walk the road less traveled by to make all the difference in the world?

Take it upon yourself to find the beautiful, and when you can’t find it, create it, then share it so other people can see just how beautiful of a place this world can be, should be, will be. Be the creator of your world. ▪ Send letters to the editor to opinion@thesmokesignal.org

Opinion Editor

I suppose I’m supposed to leave you guys with reflective sentiments that revive your sense of purpose. Instill in you the knowledge and infinite wisdom that I gained and experienced over these years. Tell you that you are now in the part of your life which you have the most control over, not directly tied down by financial worries or familial obligations. Say that high school never really ends and is so much than just a four year transitional period between being a kid and being a kid living with other kids. With a blatant disregard to grammar and coherence, ‘cause rules ARRR more like guidelines anyway, and you wear the pants or shortshorts to your own life.

But that would be like giving my advice, and I never found someone else’s experiences very helpful. Somehow, someone else telling me a one-liner adage, telling me what I should do based on their experience never really struck a chord with me. Yeah, experience is like needles, you shouldn’t share them.

But knowledge? That lives on forever. (Viruses, too, so seriously don’t share needles.) It’ll always be there floating around in our surroundings, waiting in textbooks to be crammed, bouncing back and forth between minds.

That’s the real beauty of knowledge. I could put off learning about our American court system, ignore circuit diagrams and Euler cycles, forgo the entire second semester of physics, and

it would still be there tomorrow, and the tomorrow after that, and the tomorrow after that tomorrow.

This year wasn’t so much about instant gratification with newfound freedom, or even coming to school late and brushing off homework, than about doing something you may never have the chance to do again… and with little consequences. For a short time in our lives, knowledge can wait.

Bless those Princeton Review and Prentice Hall writers who so graciously engrave knowledge into timelessness. Knowledge can wait because it can be passed on.

But experience? That precious window of opportunity comes and goes. Someone else can tell you about the time they walked past it or climbed into it and snatched your people up, but that experience isn’t yours to claim.

You’ll never truly connect with other people’s stories, lessons, regrets, advice. You might even be deterred or view life in a narrower view, so it’s up to you to experience your own life. It’s not like you should be oblivious to long term goals- college and career.

Without a little unleashing of the inner-rebel within, though, you might end up like the dusty, discrete textbook in my locker.

Then again, all of this is really just my advice from my experience, so you should stick to your routine. It’s much more comfortable when there’s nothing else to compare it to. ▪ Send letters to the editor to opinion@thesmokesignal.org

staff writer joy xu

staff writer rebecca dutta

6

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TRUMP 2012 OR 2016 OR 2020

By Vishal Bajpai Staff Writer

Earlier this year news of Donald Trump’s high polling data aroused great emotion within the nation. Trump, a real estate tycoon, reality show host, and model for Combover Weekly, sat down with the Smoke Signal for an interview. Trump expressed great delight in his success, he said, “Look, I have been running this show on NBC, it’s called The Apprentice, and ever since this president hoopla started, my ratings have been going up! I am really proud of myself at this moment. I have done many very important things like leading the Republican polls and forcing Obama to release his long-form birth certificate and doubling my viewership from last year. Can I hear a WINNING?” Recently though Trump has had second thoughts about his candidacy, “I just don’t know why I’m here anymore. I mean Donald Trump for President? Sure it has a nice ring to it, but do I really wanna live in a world where I’m the prez?” Now his voice was really picking up, “I mean, hell I do, but the American people want to live in that world too! That’s crazy.”

“I’m a #$@! reality show host, I play golf more often than I read any newspaper, and I spend more money on my hair in a week than we do on our federal education budget for the year. And the people want ME for their president!” Trump proclaimed in anguish, “I’m sick of it already,

coloniegcc.com, fashionjewelryforeveryone.com, hatchat.net, thetorquereport.com, staff writer anthony chen

Donald Trump, a brand in and of himself, flirting with a presidential run before coming to terms with reality.

the relatability classes, the planted questions at rallies, the misinformation campaigns, the private investigators in Hawaii. Does America really need this? Well, America needs me, but does it need a Trump 2012, well it does, but really!!??!?!”

Trump was “super bummed” because he was “losing faith in the American people for having faith in me,” but he was just as critical about his rivals, “Newt is a fine guy,

unless you’re his wife. You know he left one while she was dying of cancer. Not only that but the man looks like a grown up cabbage patch kid. I remember I had someone who looked like him in season two of The Apprentice; firing him was such a pleasure.”

President Obama commented “Yeah, running against any ticket that has Trump on it is a depressing prospect. The only upside to the ticket would be the killer

after party at the Trump Tower after the election. That man may not know how to lead a country, but he knows how to party.”

Sarah Palin had a slightly different view, “Sure that city kid has never hunted a caribou in his life, and I know for sure he has never watched his son’s hockey games, but don’t ’cha know, I feel like he is a man that COULD lead this country. It seems people are forgetting that this man actually gets cheered when he fires people on TV for everyone to see. If he can pull that off in the White House, we can kiss good bye to business regulations and Congress!”

Trump concluded his interview, “I think I’m going to reconsider. I won’t throw my hat into the race,” Trump continued with a shrug, “’cuz my toupee might go along with it. I mean I’d also have to put up with the smaller house, the flimsier private airplane, and a de-blinged helicopter to be president. And honestly I have years on me. I can fake running for President again four years from now!” ▪

Friday, June 3, 2011

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Opinion

7

SAT II? Challenge Accepted.

staff writer allan ko

By Aishwarya Thakur Staff Writer

For the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors out there, weren’t we always told that we didn’t have to take the SAT II Subject Tests anymore? Yet everybody still does. Some take it to apply to privates, some to follow other sheep, and others because the UCs said it was recommended, which translated to “TAKE IT OR ELSE!” For the Class of 2012 and after, The Regents of the University of California, or UC Regents (the governing board of the UC system) decided that the SAT IIs were no longer necessary to apply to any of the UCs. Former Vice Chairman of the UC system wide Academic Senate said

that those students who did not take the SAT II tests were immediately disregarded even though they had decent grades and SAT scores and this was “cutting people out of at least a shot of consideration for no reasons that have to do with achievement.”

The UC Regents also believed that the past system was not fair as studies showed that students in low socioeconomic areas were not able to take the SAT II exams due to lack of knowledge of the tests, preparation, and sufficient finances.

Although students from many other California high schools will now be able to apply to the UC schools (a 12-15 percent increase in the number of applicants is projected) by saving time, money, and stress, students

at MSJ still continue with the old routine. We know that MSJ students are over-achievers, but the majority of people who take these tests do so because they are applying to private universities, some of which require or recommend them. Also, students want to prove that they are capable in test taking and have mastered the specific subjects that the SAT IIs test them on.

Frankly, the UCs are being sneaky and we’re getting mixed messages from them. According to the UC Berkeley School of Engineering Undergraduate Admissions website, it says, “Engineering applicants are also strongly encouraged to take the SAT Subject Test in Math Level 2 and a SAT Subject Test in science (Biology E/M, Chemis-

try or Physics) in order to be as competitive as possible.” This also applies to many other UC schools such as UCSD, UCSB, and UCLA. Certain departments “strongly recommend” SAT II tests and thus students are continuing to take them.

Therefore, how will the problem of socioeconomic and cultural bias be solved? Those kids that are aware of these tests and can afford the materials necessary to prepare for them will be the ones who will eventually get accepted because their applications are more competitive.

However, for those students who are not planning on majoring in a science or mathematics field, it is a relief to not have to take the previously required SAT II tests in math and science. Stu-

dents can now choose to take SAT tests in their fields of interests. However, these students are still taking the SAT II exams to show their competency in the subjects they wish to pursue and to display a more competitive application.

In the end, the SAT II tests help us students display our strength and give our college applications a leg up from the thousands of other applicants. It is yet to be seen if the “no SAT IIs required” policy will create more diversity in the UC system, but it doesn’t look like students will stop taking the SAT II tests anytime soon. Don’t worry CollegeBoard - as long as there are students applying to college, there will be students taking the SAT IIs. ▪

Stress-for-Free Week

By Frank Chen Staff Writer

It is normal to be stressed out here at MSJ. In fact, the recent stress levels are increasing exponentially as final exams creep up around the corner. Well, there’s no need to fear; stress-reduction day is here! Or is it?

The purpose of stress-reduction day is to relax the student body as they get ready for their final exams in the following week. It includes an extended lunch period with numerous fun activities solely devoted to relaxation (which, in a student’s perception, are less homework and fewer tests). In previous years, stressreduction day used to be called stressreduction week, but this year, it was decided otherwise.

We all know that living inside the “MSJ Bubble” has forced us to adapt to various pressures and competitions when it comes to academics, but aside from the intense amount of school work and standardized testing, we still need to have fun. That was why stress-reduction week was proposed in the first place: to promote relaxation and stress minimization among students. In previous years, students looked forward to stress-reduction week because it is the only time of the year when they can relax for the last time and become mentally prepared for their final exams. This year, with stress reduction week turned into stress-reduction

day, the decrease of workloads for students during this week is not as significant.

Frankly, the teachers do not exactly have the easiest week either. “I think that even though STAR testing is over, teachers still have to finish teaching their respective courses,” History teacher Jeff Evans said. “The school year is not over yet.” With only a couple of days until final exams, teachers are obliged to finish lecturing the information required for their respective courses. With a little delay here and there throughout the year, teachers find stress-reduction week the only five days for catch-up. The recent budget cuts and the increasing student population worsened the situation by decreasing the number of school days, thus forcing teachers to cover their respective courses within a very limited amount of time. Although these days of budget crisis are not easy on either the students or the teachers, careful planning and organization can avoid the pileup of testing and homework during these upcoming days.

“Although teachers may give out work, they should definitely do it in a way that is interesting and enjoyable for the students.” Evans said.

Since stress reduction day had already been declared as a day to relax, it should remain true to its goal of decreasing the students’ stress levels in the next school year and ensuring that they put their full effort into the final exams. ▪

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Dear Diary...senior reflection

By Michael Wu Staff Writer

And in the blink of an eye my high school life is almost over. Although I am luckily going off to college in the fall, I sometimes think about not just what I already have done, but what I could have done.

Clubs In what was soon to become a trend throughout my high school life, I arrived late to my freshmen year orientation. While at the time it may not have seemed to be a big deal, I didn’t join any clubs in freshman year (not even up until junior year). Moral of the story: Join clubs in freshmen year.

The year is really stressful as you transition into high school life, but being part of a club allows you to get a head start on making new friends who will support you throughout high school.

Homecoming My second major regret in high school was that I was not very involved in Homecoming. It is definitely worth it to be a part of the Homecoming effort for your class. Every year I would stare from the crowd at my fellow classmates whirling around on stage with jealousy. No matter what your talents are, the Homecoming effort can always use another person’s help.

Sports Aside from plain academic work, I was a student-athelete at heart. While I was no superstar at sports, I always gave my full effort in practice for both swimming and cross country. To quote Coach Marden, “Hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard”. I carried that work ethic through every seson and I believe it shows in my steady improvement each sports season. Join sports here at MSJ. If not for the college app credit, do it to make new friends. The

people I have met on the cross country and swimming teams are my closest friends.

Teachers Now that I think about it, I wish I talked to my teachers more. I’m the kind of student that just sits in class and self-studies the material during the period instead of listening to the teacher’s lecture. I never really got to know my teachers as people rather than just someone who administered work and tests.

Friends Throughout high school you will meet many interesting new people who will amaze and sometimes even scare you. Instead of judging the people around you, try to connect with them. These wonderful people have kept me grounded for four years of high school. They’ve seen me in my worst and best moods, yet they’ve stood by me all the while. Don’t distance yourselves from your friends, when you’re stressed; they’ll keep you sane.

In Conclusion On the whole, I have only been able to relate just a fraction of life here at MSJ. While it may be too late for me to go back and change what has already happened, it’s still not too late for everyone. Go ahead, take a leap of faith. Get out of your comfort zone.

You’ll become a better person. Make the most of your experiences; it’s something you will carry with you forever. ▪

The Smoke Signal

Friday, June 9, 2011

Spotlight: Dustin Vo

By Kevin Zhai Staff Writer

You may have seen Dustin Vo at the Charity Fashion Show or at the Multicultural Week assembly dazzling the audience with his glowin-the-dark poi spinning routines. The Smoke Signal had a chance to sit down and talk to Dustin about his unique hobby.

Smoke Signal: Can you give us a definition of poi spinning and its origins?

Dustin Vo: Poi spinning is a performance art.

You do tricks and spins in the dark with glowin-the-dark balls and nylon strings. If you do it correctly, it makes the motions blend together into a pattern in the dark. It originated in New Zealand.

SS: How were you first introduced to poi spinning?

DV: Over the summer, I met a couple guys in San Jose from Emery High School and they were using glow sticks. One guy told me that you could also use nylon strings and balls, and he showed me a couple tricks. I got into it so when I got home, I bought my own equipment and started from there. I’ve been practicing for about a year now.

SS: What would be a good website for poi spinning beginners?

DV: There’s a site called www.homeofpoi.com, and it’s based in New Zealand. They have all the equipment and videos. It’s basically everything you want to know about poi on one website. I order all of my equipment from that website. It’s where I get support from the online community and where I learn new tricks.

SS: Are there any safety precautions?

DV: The thing about poi spinning is that it’s hard to perform because it has to be pitchdark. I’ve hit myself a couple of times, and I have bruises on my legs. The number one problem besides the rope snapping is that my

staff writer richie zeng

glasses sometimes fall off. During the Charity Fashion Show my glasses kept slipping to the end of my nose, and I had to push them back up with my arm while I was performing constantly.

SS: How often do you practice?

DV: I used to practice an hour a day, but I’ve been taking a break from poi for a couple weeks because of senior year and the performances I’ve done. I’m going to start back again in the summer.

SS: What songs do you like to practice with?

DV: Songs by modern artists like Ne-Yo and Iyaz. Justin Bieber has some good songs to go with poi spinning too. I tried with classical music, but it’s too slow for poi spinning to work.

SS: Do you see yourself practicing poi spinning in the future?

DV: Definitely. I plan on forming a small group so people can learn how to poi spin.

It’s not like playing an instrument or hiphop dancing because it’s so unknown and there isn’t anyone to teach people that I know of in this area. If anyone’s interested, please come talk to me! ▪

MSJ says goodbye

By Edward Nguyen Staff Writer

Mr. Camacho Mr. Camacho has taught AP Chemistry and CP Physics. He has been working with MSJ staff and students for over thirty years.

Reason for leaving: Mr. Camacho will be retiring.

Who is stepping in: Ms. Kumar will be teaching AP Chemistry next year. She has been working very closely with Mr. Camacho this past year to learn more about the curriculum and classes. courtesy yearbook

Last message to MSJ: “Teaching here at MSJ has always been wonderful. The students have been great and I’ve enjoyed my time here.”

Mrs. Wegner Mrs. Wegner has taught at MSJ for six years: Digital Imaging I for six years and Digital Imaging II for the last five years. She was also the club advisor for the Web Design club.

Reason for leaving: “I've been blessed with a little girl, Ada Renee Wegner. I'm leaving Mission to spend more time with her... I'm going to try and do some freelance from home for now, and when I work full-time again, I want a shorter commute (I'm coming from Tracy).” courtesy yearbook

Who is stepping in: “Priscilla Barton will be teaching the class next year. We are great friends and very similar as far as our work experience prior to teaching, etc. I’m excited about leaving the program in such capable hands. MSJ will be blessed to have her!”

Last messages to MSJ: “I’m very thankful for my time at Mission, and I’m really going to miss the staff and students. Nothing but my baby girl could have made me leave, but she’s worth it. ;)”▪ Information is based on what was made available to The Smoke Signal at time of publication.

Friday, June 3, 2011

The Smoke Signal

By Sida Lu Staff Writer

Ahhh summer. The only time of year where you can easily tell who’s not wearing deodorant, see skin that should remain forever hidden, and find ample excuse to gorge yourself on ice cream and frozen treats. Summer also allows many students to pursue their interests through internships, part-time jobs, or classes, but wouldn’t you rather do all that from the comfort of your own home? The Smoke Signal proudly presents… The Lazy Guide to a Productive Summer.

Herbology Everyone knows that a wall can’t also be a street, so when the oxymoron Wall Street inevitably crashes, your degree in Herbology will come in extremely handy! Paint your thumb green and head to a patch of dirt to begin. Look for really tough soil with lots of dry cracks for your potential plants.

These cracks will allow your seed to respire and undergo plant respiration. Make sure to plant all of your seeds in a very concentrated area-- safety in numbers, right? Lastly, don’t forget to invite lots of squirrels and rodent creatures to keep your plants company.

Marine Biology For this activity, be sure to apply lots of sun protective ointment as to avoid painful side effects. Drag a lawn chair out to your pool and take up your station for a good day of observation. Be sure to take note of the ripples in your pool and any creatures that might visit. If you’re feeling really up to the task, you may even want to venture into the field and observe from within the pool. Warning: Advised for experienced Marine Biologists only.

Don’t have a pool? Dig your own or “borrow” a neighbors’! It’s for education, after all…

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Feature 9

The lazy guide for a productive summer Professional Eater-ology With the National Football League locking out their players and the National Basketball League on the cusp of a similar lockout, the need for a new American pastime is evident. I have extreme confidence in Major League Eating stepping up to the challenge both as the sport to watch for the future as it combines the core values that America was built upon: greasy food and stuffing faces.

Start practicing now by piling all the food in your house on your dinner table and attempting to eat all of it in one sitting—don’t worry if you start throwing up uncontrollably, just chow through it! Haven’t you ever seen Rocky? It means you’re making progress!

Astrology After arduously working on your Marine Biology observations until nightfall, quickly switch into Astrology mode and begin looking for new constellations in the sky. If you happen to enter “energy conservation” mode, do not worry! You’re just being an overzealous student and doing your homework, right?

Energy Conservation This is going to be a huge industry in the near future as people begin to grow tired of paying nearly five dollars for a gallon of gas and look for alternate sources of energy, so get a head start now and learn about Energy Conservation! Simply head to your comfortable bed, tuck yourself in, and count sheep until you drift off. The more hours you put in to this arduous task, the more you will learn about Energy Conservation.▪

staff writer frank chen

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, June 3, 2011

SPRING INTO SUMMER

By Alekya Rajanala, Diya Roy & Savina Khangura Staff Writers

Most of us have experienced a day or two (or ten) during the summer when we do nothing but lounge around the house in pajamas, watching reruns of The Cosby Show, and trying to beat our high scores on Fruit Ninja. For those of us who fit this category, the Smoke Signal presents a spread of summer activities intended to combat boredom, reduce brain drain, and get the most enjoyment out of the upcoming months.

DAY TRIPS Raging Waters, San Jose

Lake Chabot Regional Park, Castro Valley

25 minutes away

35 minutes away

As northern California’s largest water park, Raging Waters boasts a long list of water rides including a wave pool, a lazy river, and numerous high-speed water slides. The park has activities appropriate for families as well as teenagers, making it the perfect spot to hang out with friends or get together with younger cousins.

This beautiful park and recreational area has several attractive features including picnic spots, boating, fishing, and hiking trails. Visitors can rent kayaks, row boats, pedal boats, and motor boats. Park visitors can also enjoy the numerous walking trails through the hills, as well as the boat tours around the lake.

$5 per vehicle entering the park

$34 per general ticket

Laser Quest, Mountain View

Lunar Golf, Great Mall, Milpitas 20 minutes away

30 minutes away

This indoor glow-in-the-dark mini golf location is enjoyable for almost everyone, regardless of age, taste, and athletic ability. Conveniently located twenty minutes away from MSJ, this facility also has black lights which add to its retro atmosphere. Maximize the fun with bright or light colored clothing.

As an activity for “the young and the young at heart,” laser tag has grown in popularity over the years and has arrived to become one of the most in-vogue activities among teenagers. Mountain View’s Laser Quest has earned particularly positive reviews on Yelp! as one of the best laser tag centers in the Bay Area. Perfect your technique and you could enter one of several exclusive laser tag tournaments hosted around the world.

$8 per player, Additional rounds for $5 each

$9 per general ticket

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F.A.S.T provides AmeriFor many sophomores and For a job full of rides and For students who can Red Cross swim lessons juniors, this summer is the persun, try applying to the lodon’t enjoy spending over the summer for swimfect opportunity to experical theme park. Every sumtime in water, the local mers of all levels at MSJ’s ence something new and exmer Great America hires shops are full of employvery own pool. Each instrucciting. Discovery Internships is more than 2,000 seasonal ment opportunities. Yogurt tor is in charge of teaching employees. Along with earnan all-inclusive program with shops, hair or nail salons, and half-hour classes consisting ing some money to pay for locations in Boston, Chicago, stores like Color Me Mine are of one to five students. This your fall wardrobe, you will Los Angeles, New York City, always looking to hire more also be able to gain imporjob provides the opportunity San Francisco, and London. students as seasonal employtant experience in customer of earning a CPR/First Aid As a Discovery intern you ees during the summer. Don’t service and working on a certificate. If you have other will be able to gain work be afraid to branch out and team summer plans, such as sum. Working at any job experience in any profesapply for something with will be an immediate resume mer school, there is always sional field you are interestwhich you’ve had no experiboost, and will open the door the option to work either the ed in. Discovery Internships ence. Usually businesses hire to other job opportunities. To morning or afternoon shift accepts applications year students for jobs that don’t apply you have to be fifteen Monday-Thursday. For more round. For more info, check require much experience, like years or older. For more info, information on how to apout www.summerdiscovery. front desk or secretarial work. visit http://www.cagreataply contact Mr. Thomsen in com/di scovery -interns hips. mer ica. com /job s/jo bs.c fm. the athletic department.

JOBS Lover’s Point Beach, Pacific Grove

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Looking for...

Tidepools Hiking & Picnics Surfing & Kayaking A Romantic Getaway

625 Ocean View Boulevard Pacific Grove, CA 93950

Close to Monterey Bay Aquarium lies the quaint Lover’s Point Park. Scattered throughout the beach are rocks that you can climb to see awe-inspiring views of the open ocean, sea otters, sea lions and more. During low tide, the rocks form a stunning tidepool display. This stunning display includes starfish, sea anemone, and more! The beach also has very moderate waves, which makes it great for swimming.

Muir Beach, Mill Valley

Highway 1 Mill Valley, CA 94965

Three miles west of the Muir Woods is the quiet cove and beach of Muir beach. A hiking trail leads to this beach which also contains a picnic area with barbeque grills, tables and restrooms.

After the picnic area is a trail leading to the Muir Beach Overlook. This trail provides a stunning view of the ocean hundreds of feet bellow as well as an ideal whale watching spot.

Stinson Beach, Marin County

3521 Shoreline Highway Stinson Beach CA 94970

At the base of Mount Tamapais is Stinson beach., which stretches for three miles along Highway One between the Marin Headlands and Bolinas. This beach is great for surfing and swimming. Kayaks are also available for rental for those of you who are more daring. However, the water is cold and rough at times, so tread carefully!

Point Reyes National Seashore, Olema

79 Bear Valley Rd Olema, CA 94956

Although Point Reyes National Seashore may not be the best for a light swim in warm waters, it is great for a romantic getaway. Although cold and breezy at times, this beach features astounding tall waves. Perhaps the most attractive part of this beach are the multiple secluded inlets which provide shelter from the wind and a great view of the ocean. boxfont.com, barnold.us, deviantart.com

Friday June 3, 2011

The Smoke Signal

I, Adriana Aboumrad, bequeath the Aboumrad reputation to Tamara, my little sister, and to Muntaha Samad all my British speaking abilities.

I, Adrienne Lam, bequeath Sarah Ching my love of sassy dances, mural-making, and Pink; Natasha Yeh my obsession with Verde and love of people; and Kelsey Lam my car, clothes, and tanness.

I, Adrienne Lee, bequeath my piece of wood with strings to Jerbear.

I, Aditi Amlani, bequeath MSJ secretarial duties to Monica Liu, never-ending passion to all next year’s ASBOs, and continuing Kathak YC love to Monica Chitre and Sonali Toppur.

I, Aileen Lu, bequeath amazing Centerspread layouts to Alice Zalan and Frank Chen and many future SCDC and ICDC wins to MSJ DECA. I, Aileen Ren, bequeath my car to my overly-excited-todrive brother, Andrew Ren. I expect it to stay in one piece.

I, Akhil Sundar, bequeath my sense of humor, dashing good looks, and Indian accent to Guhan Sundar and Sid Ambulbakur.

I, Alexander Marston Rawlings, bequeath the crushing pressure to achieve to all unfortunate souls that follow.

I, Alex Lo, bequeath my bike knowledge and the title of B.O.B. to Faiz Khan, and my love of fast things on wheels to Kartik Surugucchi.

I, Alex Mui, bequeath my chizzled body to Rod Kazempour.

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give to a son and Hilary Yen a ringtone of her loud laugh.

I, Caroline Lin, bequeath my drama watching obsession to Joelin Chen.

I, Carolyn Chan, bequeath to Ilene Tsao my creativity and dominant left hand dribbling skills.

I, Cassie Zhang, bequeath my art farts to Kevin He, scrubbiness to Jaynelle Gao, and my photo baby to Kevin Zhai and Angie Wang.

I, Catherine Shir, bequeath ERRC to Malinda and Alekya, and wish the best of luck + success to my awesome PE buddies: Lucy, Alice, and Leslie.

I, Chang Li, bequeath Subhadra Acharya my collected volumes of manpages, don’t lose them! They’re very important.

Every girl (and guy) need them sometime in her lifetime.

I, Chavy Chiang, bequeath my severe case of Senioritis to the student body of MSJ. I, Chelsea Dass, bequeath the title of Phoenix Editor-inChief to Lakshmi Subbaraj and all my bagel, ERRC, OM, and PR love to next year’s lucky new members.

I, Chris Chen, bequeath my little brother Alex all my SAT prep-books, ability to focus and get things done, my passion for volleyball, and to the upcoming class of 2015, the ability to beat 2014 next year.

I, Christina Shih, bequeath my locker (and its secrets) to Julia Shih and my typing skills to Tiffany Chou.

I, Alex Scott, bequeath my amazing intellect to my brother Andrew. (I guess I’ll leave the Xbox as well.)

I, Christine Gan, bequeath my designing skills to Sarah Ching, my hair parting to Nicole Tan and Tessa Shanley, life of the party title to Sonia Liou and Victoria Chang, and good looks to Connie Chen because she needs them. Just kidding.

I, Alissa Gwynn, bequeath the joys of motherhood to Michelle Lee, my “love for freshmen” to the rest of my Key Club babies, and EiC superstardom to Diya Roy and Andrew Han.

I, Christine Yoo, bequeath the Sports Section of the Yearbook to Tati McCuaig, my job at Elite to Linda Shih, Rhonda Lee & Haebin Liew, and all my love to my god-sister Kelsey Lam.

I, Alison Lenci, bequeath my diligent study habits and my grandma sweaters to my lovely sister Marisa Lenci.

I, Conner Whaley, bequeath my stunning good looks and my amazing pecs to Austin, Brett, and Spencer Whaley, the coolest triplets in the whole wide world.

I, Allison Lucarelli, bequeath to WS my caps and goggles, my floral shirt to TB, and to both my camera, to Anna Monobe my red suitcase.

I, Alyson Au, bequeath the Yearbook to Harpreet Gill, Sarah Ching, and Sasha Schaps, as well as the leadership of many more amazing HC/MC Hula and Tahitian performances to Lauren Taylor and Megan Jose. Good luck next year to all of you!

I, Alyssa Fujikawa, bequeath the Kevin, Tony, and Michelle, the hurdle team, Melody and Grace my driving, and Austin, the amazingness of the Fujikawa title.

I, Amanda Su, bequeath Erik Su nothing.

I, Amit Patankar, bequeath the Mission Valley basketball court and Laker love to Sudhar, my senioritis to Diya and Mekala, and the sports section to Sanjna and Omar.

I, Andie Kuan, bequeath my cheerfulness and love to Allison Tong.

I, Andrew Kang, bequeath the secret ninja scroll of learning air flares to Albert Hwang and Jasper Hsieh.

I, Andrew Kim, bequeath my L2 seat to Sarah Ching, my belly to Howard Liu, my ability to sleep anywhere/anyhow to everyone, and nothing for Gretchen weiners.

I, Aneesh Nazar, bequeath my legacy to Allan Yao and Andrew Zhu. Rock hard, dudes!

I, Annie Huang, bequeath my HCMC love to Nealay Vasavda; my SAT/AP books to Eva Leung; my adventure crave to the Sexy Six, and my SEN11ORITIS to Amber Huang.

I, Arthur Jeng, bequeath my enthusiasm that electrifies others to the ducklings of Period 3 Journalism: sh@# talk to Omar El-Sadany, knack of poking fun at others to Sida Lu, the first section of the newspaper to Courtney Tam and Anthony Chen, my drumstricks and thighs to Bolun Liu, and my bodily sounds to the Mission Bell.

I, Audrey Wu, bequeath the Feature section of the Smoke Signal to Sida Lu and Edward Nguyen; and my color guard rifle #1 to Angie Wang to take care of.

I, Connie Lee, bequeath my doodling skills to Mina Lee, my passion of music to Tiffany Poon, and my colorguard skills to Angie Wang and Ada Kwong.

I, Courtney Cheng, bequeath my bruised toe nails to Katherine Chang and my personal punching bag to fellow-animal lover, Natasha Yeh. I, Crystal Chung, bequeath my cheerfulness to Danae Long, my cuteness to Lily Xu, my smartness to Lisa Chang, and my love for badminton to everyone on the team.

I, Daniel Yoon, bequeath Angela Z. and Lauren T. protection against Senioritis and the luck of Koreans for college admits and Josh to deal with our lovely mother.

I, Denise Wong, bequeath Kristina Wong my 4 years supply of infractions and tardies.

I, Diana Kuwano, bequeath my AP Japanese survival skills to Zenas Chung and Clara Yu and my awesome grading skills to Mrs. Madsen.

I, Dillon Chang, bequeath killer MC/ Friday Activity skills to Ilene SB Tsao, stud skills to JerBear, and the swim team legacy to Michael Sui and Baby Emil Croc.

I, Dilip Nallur, bequeath my trumpet skills and basketball skills to Prasanna Rajan and Jocelyn Ha and my driving skills to Tiffany Poon.

I, Dora Do, bequeath the ability to kick NCS butt to the MSJ Girls’ Tennis Team and to live long, happy tennisplaying lives.

I, Douglas Chu, bequeath the fun of Honors and AP classes to all the future students. Peace out!

I, Doug Wilson, bequeath to Lucy Shen my laziness and Sumedh B. my ability to be awesome under pressure.

I, Dustin Vo, bequeath my brother Darryl Vo, to enjoy the next two years of high school. By the way, I’m taller than you bro’.

Centerspread 11

I, Eric Liu, bequeath the handsome young Jeff Chu my biceps. Use them wisely.

I, Eric Yai, bequeath my #32 basketball jersey to future superstar, Reid Marion and my eating abilities and laziness to Sonia Liou.

I, Erik Chen, bequeath my room to Charley Chen.

I, Esther Ang, bequeath my hair braiding skills to Lisa Chang, my awesome jokes to Nicole Tan, and my Fremont Awesome Ladies my baking skills and great memories.

I, Ethan Chang, bequeath MSJ Badminton to my underclassmen, my badminton skills to the Hsiao’s, Anny Huang, Melody Yang, and my parking spot to Patty Chen.

I, Ethan Plaza, bequeath my Senioritis and raiderness to Arash and Rod, soccer skills to Jordan, Nimay, Eamon and Izzy, and Pole Vault SWAG to Kyaw, Ariel, and Micheal.

I, Evan Chua, bequeath Tony Zhang with Over Time, and Shannon Chua with my desk. Cool.

I, Evan Dankiewiez, bequeath my ping pong skills to Ryan Chiang, my Doodle Jump crown to my apprentice Khalid Dhanini, and my looks to Kevin Hsu. I, Evonne Cheng, bequeath my calculator programs, my awesome English skills, and all my luck to Rebecca Wang.

I, Franky Petersen, bequeath Ellie Wong my jokes and beautiful singing voice, Tatiana McCuaig my smack talking skills at basketball games, Laura Conn my Level 5’s and 6’s, and all my love to all of them.

I, Gabriel Chow, bequeath Stephen Chen my track skills and sick fits, Cathy Thai Scott’s heart, and Sonia Liou blank yearbook pages and a bad*ss senior year.

I, Garrett Jee, bequeath my racing and drifting skillz to Benjamin (chubz) Shay.

I, Gina Youn, bequeath Kevin Chan my noogies, Jeffrey Chang my grandpa hugs, and Vincent Meng my nonexistent Leo responsibilities.

I, Ginger Werner, bequeath the legendary tale of Zimbatu and his three grains of rice to Laura Conn. Also, the delicate art of Johnny Appleseed to Tatiana McCuaig.

I, Gloria Cho, bequeath the Korean Club to Dillon Cho and the rest of my lovely officers.

I, Grace Han, bequeath the amazing sports section to Omar and Sanjna, my sweet shot to Alexa Iwatani, my sassiness and “power” to Leona Zhu, my bright orange track shoes to Ariel Cheng, my advice and SWAG to my protege Ilene Tsao, and the family legacy to my lil bro Caleb.

I, Grant Huang, bequeath all my ladies to Ryan Mark and my triceps to Jerry Wong.

I, Gurleen Chadha, bequeath the love of my life, Enrique, to Sehej Chadha, my newsie love to Allan Ko and Mekala Neelakantan, and the Spanish Club to the new Diosa, Behroz Chhor.

I, Hannah Robinson, bequeath Melina Robinson my SAT books. Have fun being a Junior!

I, Hoyan Chung, bequeath Steven Chow my dim sun eating passion.

I, Indu Subbaraj, bequeath my carefree attitude and my “scary” volleys to Lakshmi, my secret dance moves and energy to my bro’ Hari, and the hilarious kids with ‘tudes to Uma P. I, Isaac Chang, bequeath “cyphering” to Sam Chen, Hao Fang, Jasper Hsieh, Eric Gonzales, Vishal Shaw, and Michael Lindsay.

I, Jack Chen, bequeath the senior spirit and awesomeness to the student body next year.

I, James Wu, bequeath whatever you guys want from me.

I, Jamie Lin, bequeath Jennifer Xu a healthy case of Senioritis, Priya Vijaykumar infinite unicorn wishes, Lakshmi Subbary and Sherry He the rest of my sanity to keep up Phoenix.

I, Eileen Nguyen, bequeath my mermaid game to Alex Ruff, my voice to the 7th period girls and the SYNCOPASIANS, and the “Leen” legacy to my little sister, Kathleen Nguyen.

I, Jasleena Sahni, bequeath my sister Anjleena my room and Mustang (only once a month); Dominic, Will, and Raghav my AP tests books, and Diya my love of psychology class.

I, Elaine Kuo, bequeath Syncopasians BAWSS status to Merry Mou, all my stress to Iling Chiang, and the best of luck to Stephenie Lam. Love you guys!

I, Jeffrey Li, bequeath to Kevin Chen and Richard Zhang my sprezzatura, Audrey Huang my pet starfish and Raymond Liu and Wesley Chou my Hokusai prints.

I, Brian Ning, bequeath to Vincent Meng Leo Club and District Run, and to my twin, Eileen Wong, I give good humour and great pun.

I, Elisa Ting, bequeath the Smoke Signal to Andrew Han and Diya Roy, MSJTV to Kevin Zhai and Sida Lu, my volleyball bunny to Angela Zhu, photography skills to Richard Ying, Girls State (yeah, yeah!) to Natasha Yeh, and my clumsiness to Ilene Tsao.

I, Jeffrey Liang, bequeath fatherhood to the Men of Key Club, my Cor legacy to Tessa Shanley, Nicole Tan, and Jason Vu, and my infinite ching to Cyrus Lin and Helina Wang.

Make Father Ching proud.

I, Bryan Nakasako, bequeath my Zoids collection to Sonia, my rebounding skills to Maneesh, my gorilla costume to Mrs. Vargas and my spaceship to Demid Karpov.

I, Elizabeth Au, bequeath all my stress to Stepfanie Lam and my BI to Candice Tandiono and my muscles to our tennis team.

I, Bryan Nguyen, bequeath waffles to Brandon Wu and Edward Wang, and the AP Japanese class motto, “Shikata ga nai” to Julie Saigusa.

I, Emily Sutedja, bequeath stress, patience, luck, and love to Nealay Vasavda, the third consecutive Junior/Senior HCMC member to become Senior Class Secretary.

I, Bryant Ching, bequeath the entirety of win that is Senior Year. And Gary Hua, I DO NOT OWE YOU A DOG.

I, Emmeline Tseng, bequeath my evil glare to Andrea Brandle, my parallel flag toss to KangaRu Sia, my mezzo awesomeness to Monica Liu and Emily Chen, and my number four rifle to Mina Lee.

I, Beatrice Sun, bequeath my cuteness and charm to Emily Graversen, my few hours of sleep to Maki Tohman, my study skills to Austine Lee, and my senioritis to Jennifer Xu. I, Ben Liu, bequeath Jennifer Xu the ability to calm down and relax, Ray-Hwa Wu some new friends, my siblings Tiff and Whit Liu my fatness, and Yicheng Sun pens.

I, Calvin Ma, bequeath the Continuation of Osu! playing to my brother Jeffrey, and anyone else that would join him.

I, Carol Yan, bequeath Ray Ouyang the love a mother can

I, Eric Lai, bequeath the broken bows and my crushed spirit to Robert Wang, Richard Liang, and ya boi B. Chen.

I, Jennifer Pak, bequeath my crosscourt forehands and tanlines to Stephanie Lam. I, Jessica Chen, bequeath my AP books to Merissa, red homecoming stuff to Mingyu, and nothing to Yvette. You can borrow my cuteness once in a while.

I, Jessi Cheung, bequeath “Beau Soir” to Steph Hom and Alison DF, ketchup to Emily Chen, MSJLLSS to Nicole Tan, and softball love to Laya Jacob and Sasha Schaps.

I, Jess Woo, bequeath my car driving skills to Alexa and Sydney, my dance moves to Anna, Grace Lee and Maya my bball skills, and all my love to the 2011 Lady Warriors Basketball team! ­

organized by aishwarya thankur, angie wang, ditha balaji & jonathon teng; layout and graphics by staff writers frank chen & alice zalan

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The Smoke Signal

Friday, June 3, 2011

Friday, June 3, 2011

The Smoke Signal

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Photo Pull-out 17

photos by staff writers alekya rajanala, courtney tam, aishwarya thakur, angie wang, and graphics editor sarah li.

Friday, June 3, 2011

The Smoke Signal

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Senior Superlatives 13

photos by staff writers angie wang, kevin zhai and graphics editor sarah li

14 Centerspread

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...where i

The Smoke Signal

SENIORS 2011 COLLEGE LISTS

n the

USA will the 2011 seniors be

Friday June 3, 2011

?

CALIFORNIA PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN (2) Cassie Zhang Justine Park BIOLA UNIVERSITY (2) Kristina Bergstrom James Wu CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY (1) Gloria Cho FASHION INSTITUTE OF DESIGN AND MERCHANDISING (1) Caitlyn Maureen Grundy

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

BERKELEY (47) Aditi Rijhsinghani Aileen Lu Alex Li Amanda Ying Su Amit Patankar Aneesha Desai Ankita Safaya Arnold Ha Arthur Jeng Audrey Wu Benjamin Liu Christina Shih Clifford Wang Daniel Xu Diana Li Erik Chen Evonne Cheng Gina Youn Jared Shen Jasleena Kour Sahni Jason Chen Jeffrey Li Jennifer Wu Jenny Tang Jonathan Liu Jordan Zhang Karen Hsu Kethaki C.Varadan Kevin Ohkura Kevin Wu Laura Hsu Libby Szeto Madhu Joshi Michelle Syu Mikel Wu Monica Lee Olivia Thet Paroma Varma Phoebe Cheung Phoebe Jen Richie Zeng Terisa Yiin Tiantong Qin Tina Tseng Vaishaal Shankar Will Gu William L. Tsay DAVIS (54) Aaron Hui Aneesh Nazar Annie Huang Anuj Bhardwaj Arjun Vijayakumar Balint Forgo

Brian Ning Bryan Nguyen Calvin Ma Caroline Lin Catherine Chen Christine Gan Connie Chang Connie Lee David Ma Denise Wong Dennis Liu Elliot Chi Eric Yai Eugenia H. Chung Evan Chua Fan Guo Gary Wong Grant Huang Hannah Chin Harrison Ching Janine Wong Jonathan Wang Jonathan Wu Joshua Garrison Juliane Sun Justin Tsui Kamron Afshar Kevin Huo Kevin X. Liu Liujie Wang Lynn Chang Maggie Chang Michael Chiang Michelle Chen Monica Yang Nikki Mahmoudi Rachel Marie Williams Ravneet Kaur Raymond Chen Ruth Lee Ryan Tu Shayaan Qazi Simin Wang Steven Wong Tony Wang Valerie Gadjali Vivian Zhang Yanni Dzoan Yue Shen Gu IRVINE (17) Adrienne Lam Chris Chen Conrad H. Etemadi Dustin K.Vo Emmeline Tseng Eric Lai

Esther Chu Gabriel Chow Jay Sheth Margaret Ju Michael Hui Rachel Chu Sid Selvasekar Stanley Leng Tiffany Huynh Vicky Chang Viraj Reddy

LOS ANGELES (27) Aditya Ganesh Andrew Li Beatrice Sun Bill Cheng Elaine Sang Eugene Chen Gary Chang Jeffrey Liang Jonathan Irribarren Josh Chiou Kevin Liu Kevin Ren Matt Nguyen Mika Tohmon Neil Marion Ronnie Hong Rose Liu Theodore Ma Theresa Liu Thien Nguyen Sahana Kribakaran Sonia Fan Stephen Shey Susan Chang Victor Z. Sia Vincent Yang Vishal Yadav MERCED (2) Logan Graves Thomas Feldmeier RIVERSIDE (10) Allen LeiYoung Alvin Lee Denys Melnykov Han Zhao Joshua Chen Priyanka Singh Sanjana Ramana Shyam Patel Stephen Hou Trisha Sen

SAN DIEGO (20) Abel John Adrienne Lee Anson Fan Anusha Pasumarthi Ashwin Ganesh Catherine Shir Crystal Chung Edward Leu Evan Dankiewicz Goonjan Agrawal Jasleen Kaur Jeffrey Chan Jordan Ye Kevin Le Mathew Taylor Monisha Malek Rachel Abreau Sam Jafarian Sharan Walia Weng Kou

Friday June 3, 2011

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CALIFORNIA PRIVATE & STATE UNIVERSITIES SAINT MARY’S COLLEGE (1) Adriana Aboumrad

SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY (7) Ashlyn Iwatani Coren Randall Christopher Gaines Jessie Chen Kevin Roche Margaret Lee Ramsey Fisher Douglas Chu SCRIPPS COLLEGE (1) Rebecca Dutta STANFORD UNIVERSITY (3) Elaine Kuo Roger Chen Tianda Deng

NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR UNIVERSITY (1) Victoria Wong

UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC (7) Jessica Liu John Wei Karine Chung Minahil Khan Rex Pan Traci Mori Winston Young

OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE (1) Karthik Raman

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO (1) Alyson Au

PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY (1) Calvin Chiang

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (12) Alissa Gwynn Andrew Han Ankita Agharkar

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY (1) Ethan Plaza

The Smoke Signal

Chang Li Christine Yoo Elisa Ting Gurleen Chadha Joy Xu Lawrence Chao Linda Zheng Michael Xu Samuel Brown

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITIES CAL POLY POMONA (1) Joey Uken CAL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO (14) Calvin Xu Emily Sutedja Esther Ang Farhaan Serang Jorgie Wu Josephine Suen Leslie Lin Matt Imhof Nabarun Sengupta Neil Uberoi Nikhilasri Perugupalli Sterling Tarng Tarun Chigurupati William Luo CSU EAST BAY (1) Kassandra Amper CSU HUMBOLDT (2) Allison Lenci Tessa Anderson CSU STANISLAUS (1) Lica Mae Monobe

SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY (4) Karina Wong Michael Lee Rachel McMullen Rishi Saraswat

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

BUTTE (2) Alexis Markou Jake Seubert

SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY (28) Albert Tsai Alysha Mistry Alyssa Fujikawa Anthony Tsang Bryant Ching Carol Yan Deniselois Domingo Devdutt Srivastava Diana Lin Kuwano Dilip Nallur Dillon Chang Dora Do Eileen Nguyen Elaine Hui Garrett Jee Isaac Chang Junaid Patel Justin Han Lauren Vargas Mason Yang Richard-James Pam Lu Sara Au Sarah Anne Platt Sean Luis Shariq Shah Taylor Jackson Wesley Lu Zahra Sarwary

CABRILLO (1) Autum Sierra Amber Walker

UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO (1) Franky Petersen

HEALD COLLEGE (1) Tomoko Isobe

CHABOT (2) Brianna Moore Emmanuel Vera CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO (1) Sara Jacoby COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO (1) Trina Duarte CUESTA (5) Jeffrey Norton Joey Cantrell Trent Nelson Yema Jalal Sunny Rupani DE ANZA (2) Marcell Aslami Justin Chen FOOTHILL (2) Anna Kim Jessica Woo

LANEY (1) Robyn Torrence

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MISSION (1) Bisma Baig OHLONE (31) Abdullah Wardak Adam Shafi Alessandro Greco Alex Mui Allison Bo Lucarelli Ankit Guhamajumdar Benjamin Cohen Brandon Hraiz Brianna Borgzinner Chenglin Xie Cody Michael Thompson Eric Smith Jeffrey Kanemitsu Joanna C.Young Josh Yang Kathy Nguyen Leo Yang Marwan Mogaddedi Matthew Keenan Mridula Joshi Nabeel Ahmad Safi Parsa Barhaghi Saadia Amin Saneil Nayak Sharan Dulai Tyler Aaron Strand Victoria Lee Yunfeng Zhao Zannain Shafi Zi Zhang Ziheng Huang ORANGE COAST (1) Ray Kuo SANTA MONICA (1) Hari Hemanth Venigalla SIENA (1) Makenzie White

OUT OF STATE

SANTA BARBARA (9) Alexander Scott Eric Liu Hannah Robinson Jasper Cheng Jessica Chen Sahil Jethi Scott Kenneth Dentinger Teresa Lum Thomas Lee

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY (1) Julia Kuzmenko

SANTA CRUZ (19) Alvin Ly Andrea Kuan Andrew Hu Andrew Kang Andrew Kim Carolyn Chan Courtney Cheng Daniel Yoon Elliot Yang George Feng Jennifer Pak Joshua Lee Kevin Yeap Naomi Wu Patricia Casipe Ray Chung Tabitha Chew Tim Steele Wei-Ting Lin

BOSTON COLLEGE (1) George Weng

CASE WESTERN UNIVERSITY (2) Eric Hsu Eric Lin

GEORGIA TECH UNIVERSITY (3) Debra Wu Ethan Chang JJ Chok

Nitya Subramanian Pooja L. Jethani Sneha Lingam

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY (3) Kevin Zhang BENTLEY UNIVERSITY (1) Sloka Gundala Michelle Lee Victoria Lin

HARVARD UNIVERSITY (2) Carl Gao Pulak Goyal

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY (4) Alice Ding Isabelle Yi Michelle Nguyen Ryan Foo

CORNELL UNIVERSITY (1) Judith Zhu

HOLLINS UNIVERSITY (1) Audrey James

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY (1) Nikita Ramanujam

DARTMOUTH UNIVERSITY (2) Justin F. Sha Sasha Alcon

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERISTY (1) Tiffany Ko

PRATT INSTITUTE (1) Anand Gangal

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY (1) Surag Sheth

BOSTON UNIVERSITY (7) Aditi Amlani Jamie Lin Jessica Cheung Jonathan Ho Kevin Lo Samyukta Swaminath Savina Khangura BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY (1) Jennifer Montalvo CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY (6) Akshay Nanavati Alvin Mao Desiree Xu Dongho Eugene Choi Eric Gan Ian Huang

DREXEL UNIVERSITY (2) Jasmine Elizabeth Thottungal Menaka Shankar DUKE UNIVERSITY (2) Grace Han Janvi Shah FORDHAM UNIVERSITY (1) Megan McLaughlin

KETO UNIVERSITY, JAPAN (1) Chisato Hayashi MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE OF PHARMACY AND HEALTH SCIENCES (2) Crystal Situ Roxanna Borzin MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (3)

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY (2) Austin Jackson Jacqueline Chu

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO (2) Sarah Li Sonia Dhawan UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII (1) Siobhan Wetzel UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANACHAMPAIGN (4) Frank Zhu Prithvi Ramesh Spandana Mantravadi Willie Wang UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, ANN ARBOR (2) Kevin Ong Lorenza Ayala

PURDUE UNIVERSITY (2) UNIVERSITY OF Atisheel Kak MISSOURI (1) Wendy Lu Mihir Bhagat ST. BONAVENTURE UNIVERSITY OF UNIVERSITY (1) NEVADA, RENO (1) Shruti Merchant Bryan Paul Nakasako ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY OF UNIVERSITY (1) OKLAHOMA (1) Kristi Lin Doug Wilson

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON (1) Ginger Werner UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA (3) Indu Subbaraj Mihir Jain Thomas Chi WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS (4) Aileen Ren Akhil Sundar Melissa Yan Zhang Samantha Chen UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, SEATTLE (4) Anqi Chen Farhan Himmati Kelsey F. Mukai Lor-Shing Hsu U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY (1) Siwen Dickstein VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY (1) Louis Li

organized by aishwarya thakur, alice zalan, anthony chen, courtney tam, omar el-sadany & sida lu; layout and graphics by centerspread editors aileen lu & tina tseng

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I, Joey Uken, bequeath the spirit of my old big white van to Nick and Aamir in track. Use it well young Padawans.

I, Nabeel Safi, bequeath my awesome jokes to Mrs. Grabowski!

I, Jonathan Wu, bequeath my love for gaming, track, anime, and cross country to the class of 2015.

I, Naomi Wu, bequeath my broken pencil and Japanese guide book to Nathan Wu.

I, Jordan Zhang, bequeath the A&E section, with all of its glorious free stuff, to Alekya and Maya, some useful knowledge to Hairuo, a flipped bird to Sean, a grain of rice to Leena, Riceballs to Shannia, many huggles to Anthony and Nick, and the pensieve of my high school life to Lucy.

I, Nikita Ramanujam, bequeath my PBS to Clarissa Nguyen, my love for music to Angela Chen, and my Interact love to the 2011-2012 Interact board.

I, Jorgie Wu, bequeath Taneesh Sra and the rest of the girls golf team my crooked sand balls, stale Chewy Bars to Nealay Vasavda, and all my love and non-Koreanness to Youth Alive.

I, Nitya Subramanian, bequeath countless hours spent looking for 7/16” wrenches to the Insomniacs, my terrible case of senioritis to Jennifer Xu, and the attention of my helicopter parents to Nisha Subramanian.

I, Olivia Thet, bequeath the B squad to Andrew M. and Ryan L., my heart to Allison T., towels to Connie C, and curves to Laya J. and Sasha S.

I, Josephine Suen, bequeath tastier apples to Princess Leona and Ariel, being forever alone to Mindy Lai, cat naps to Shi, T, cruel sarcasm to Jump Squad and awesome fish to I, Paroma Varma, bequeath my Indian tradition to my son, Andrew Han; my USC T-shirt to my other son, Sumukh the J3 family.

Sridhara, and motherly love to both.

I, Joy Xu, bequeath Natasha Yeh my rap street cred, Emily I, Parsa B., bequeath Demid Karpov my ultimate bumness.

Hsu my MW2 skills, Kyle Chen my rope ladder, Anurag Reddy, Adam Law, and Anthony Chen my attendance and I, Phoebe Cheung, bequeath to Jubilee Cheung the task of punctuality, Sida Lu MSJTV, and to them all, my love. annoying our parents and to Nelson Yeap the task of annoyI, Justin Sha, bequeath to Parikh & Tieu my swag; to Ryan ing Kevin.

Sha all my luck; to Jennifer Sekar the sheer greatness I, Priyanka Singh, bequeath Tati’s ring to Cindy, Cass, Krisof Speech & Debate; and to my friends Aieswarya, Vipin, tin, Mun, Ari, Rach, Laya, Kylie, and Shannon. I know you Nithya, & Rupam the vast legacy that is MSJ DECA. guys will make me proud.

I, Karina Wong, bequeath my “gracefulness” to Jovian Lam, my mixed skills to Melissa Wu, my random giggles to Jason I, Priyanka L. Singh, bequeath Yohanna-Ardiar, Sean and Eric- scandalous shoulders, Patrick-nap chairs, Sean W. and Lau, my sunshine to Erik Su, and my love to Lisa Chang!

Keith- Andrea L, Aaron-shuffling, and Alex-never ending fwah’s.

I, Kevin Huo, bequeath Dustin Koliner and Demid Karpov all my FMH knowledge. To James Gao, Shane Keenan, and I, Rachel Abreau, bequeath my talkative tendencies to my Chani Kim, I leave the future of the football team. (Swag brother, Sean Abreau. me out Paul) I, Kevin Wu, bequeath my knowledge, passion, and 180 horsepower to Academic Challenge and long distance runners. i will be with you in spirit.

I, Kevin X. Liu, bequeath my volley skills and eternal love to the MSJ Volleyball team and Byron Wang and my little brother’s love to all his little friends.

I, Kristi Lin, bequeath Aaron Lin my bag of wipes, my bowl of fresh veggies, and his desk back.

I, Leslie Lin, bequeath my amazing-ness to IPCF youth.

I, Lica Monobe, bequeath my awesome clothes to Madison Hirsch, my LicaGol to Kristen Moyer, euphora to Juliana McCuaig, and all my courage to Anna Monobe.

I, Linda Zheng, bequeath a League of Legends addiction that was spread throughout the year.

I, Ramsey Fisher, bequeath my intense school spirit and my ability to grow facial hair to Scott Havard.

I, Ravneet Kaur, bequeath my bhangra skills to Tanesh Sra, my favorite junior.

I, Roger Chen, bequeath the section that is superior to News to Anthony Chen and Courtney Tam, my ballerness to Kevin Chen, an arrangement to Aaron Yang and Winnie Ding, and a stress-free day to Merry Mou. I, Ronnie Hong, bequeath to Bryant my library collection totalling at 150 pounds.I, Dennis Liu, bequeath the Kpop crew for next year’s MC assembly. Good luck next year and keep the tradition going! Hwaiting!

I, Rose Liu, bequeath my favorite APES juniors the joy of college apps. They’re ass-some, guys. Really. And good luck Arvind, Kunal, Jason, Vishal, and Wantong.

I, Sahana Kribakaran, bequeath my liners and lunges to my I, Lorenza Ayala, bequeath Leona Zhu my will to grow taller (it won’t help her), and Lakshmi Subbaraj my college tennis girls and my AP Bio notes and amazing driving skills (no sarcasm intended) to Karthik Kribakaran. application stamina.

I, Lor-Shing Hsu, bequeath my awesome vocal chants to Maya R., the skills and passion for next year’s YA officers, and my “effective” but short speeches to Gigi Hsu. Play victoriously Lady Warriors!

I, Madhu Joshi, bequeath my kindness to Justin Juan because he needs it.

I, Maggie Chang, bequeath my multitasking ability to Natasha Yeh.

I, Sterling Tarng, bequeath my volleyball skills to Tiffany Chen, my puppy love to Shannon Chua, my Taiwanese skills to Cherie Tsay, and everything else to my brother, Cassidy Tarng.

I, Steven Wong, bequeath my passion for design and organization to Yearbook, my engineering prowess to Team 2489, and my unbelievably stunning looks to Walter Yu. I, Sunny Rupani, bequeath my amazing basketball skills, perfect free throw shooting, amazing ball handling, and awesome three point shooting to Anuj Singh.

I, Taylor Jackson, bequeath that the years to come make the best of their high school years. You only have one time to live.

I, Terisa Yiin, bequeath my food and shopping habits to Jennifer Xu, my study habits to Stephenie Lam, and AP English worries to Lisa Chang.

I, Tessa Anderson, bequeath Leona Zhu three billy goats gruff, Ariel Cheng ninja skills, Mindy Lai curly hair and awesome weirdness, and Tian Shi epic cough drops.

I, Theodore Ma, bequeath my big head to Brian Kim, my pitch and arranging abilities to Merry Mou, and my endless craving of food to Jordan Sun. I, Theresa Liu, bequeath all my days of being sore to MSJ badminton, my sleeping schedule to Justin Juan, my “sense of style” to Connie Chen, and all my love to next year’s ASBO’s and L2 class.

I, Thomas Lee, bequeath my abs to Brian Chao and Derrick Long, my comfortable hugs to Patty and Steve, and my little Cyclops and my ability to RELAX to Melissa Wu. I, Tianda Deng, bequeath my stress to all you underclassmen.

I, Tiffany Huynh, bequeath Tyler Huynh my cooler car and a fun senior year, Maira Naimi my kick butt volleyball skills, Dennis Lee my gossiping skills and Param B. and Patrick Chen my amazing artistic abilities.

I, Tiffany Ko, bequeath my saber to Ada Kwong and my Senioritis to Jasmine Chen.

I, Tiffany Lin, bequeath my nice-ness to Justin Juan so he stops constantly insulting others.

I, Tim Nguyen, bequeath my multitudes of torrents to my younger sister Trisha Nguyen as well as the destruction of my East Coast hopes and dreams. You owe me $115.

I, Tim Steele, bequeath to the incoming seniors this great school and its great teachers and staff.

I, Tina Tseng, bequeath the most beautiful section of the Smoke Signal to Alice Zalan and Frank Chen, the wonders of chemistry and calculus to Winnie Tran, Nick Yang, Yicheng Sun, James Ho, and Sidd, and the best of luck to the new Phoenix officers.

I, Traci Mori, bequeath Kari Mori my seniority by being the last of the Mori’s to go to MSJ.

I, Saniel Nayak, bequeath to you days upon days of sleepless nights and the joy of last minute panic. You won’t regret a minute of it.

I, Trina Duarte, bequeath Ariel Cheng the leadership of the gymnastics team.

I, Sara Jacoby, bequeath my MSJ veteran cacher status to Kenny, the letters M+S to Allison and Polly, and endless Photoshop wisdom to Laura.

I, Michelle Nguyen, bequeath MSJ Interact and Area 5 to Dennis Lee, Allison Cho, Alex Qin, Angela Zhu, Richard Ying, my stress to next year’s A-team, and my HARROs to the entire student body.

I, Sonia Dhawan, bequeath my parking spot to Amun, my pen tool skills to Maryam, my creeper face to Sehej, my Hannah Montana wig to Zubair, fabulous Feature to Eddie and Sida, and of course all my Peer/Smokie love to Diya.

I, Michelle Syu, bequeath my sick wushu skills to Darrell, Cliff, Amand, and Tony, my tickling power to Zubair for use on Jason, and my awkwardness to Timmy.

I, Sonia Fan, bequeath all my love and bagels to the girls’ tennis team, my Emma Watson cutout to Jordan Suo, Brian Kim, and James Chang, and my gracious and merciful dictatorship to the new YAOs.

I, Mikel Wu, bequeath my social tact to Dinakar Guthy and Avery Kruger, my work ethic to Sean Yao the ultimate slacker, and my sense of direction to Maki Tohmon.

Friday, June 3, 2011

I, Sam Jafarian, bequeath my stats programs to the future student body.

I, Mika Tohmon, bequeath my non-existent art skills to Meri I, Sarah Anne, bequeath MSJ cheerleading’s come back.

Humbalek, sister telepathy to Maki Tohmon, and ninja-ness I, Sarah Li, bequeath my metaphorical swag wagon to to William Zhao.

Sehej Chadha, the sacred legacy of the Fruit Ninjas to Jen Xu, and the Lone Chair to Angie Wang and Kevin Zhai.

I, Maggie Lee, bequeath my interests to Sophie Jia, well wishes to Felicia Gao, Tiffany Poon, and Connie Yen, and my I, Selene Leung, bequeath many happy high school days and senioritis to Michelle Lee. club responsibilities to Alexis Leung, Rachel Lee, Morgan Vien, and Jessica Ko. Thanks for all of the good memories!

I, Matthew Taylor, bequeath the Ultimate Frisbee Club to all of those that wish to learn how to play the game of I, Shayaan Qazi, bequeath O.M. and Dashiki to Mahnoor Ultimate Frisbee.

Ghatala, and my stellar studying habits and love of sleep over homework to Mariya Waheed.

I, Megan McLaughlin, bequeath motherly-captain ways, Azerbaijan, and other a-words to Maya; checking for jerseys I, Shruti Merchant, bequeath my Senioritis to Erika Baral, to the basketball team; Steve to Rachna; diction, silliness, and DeeDee to my softball girls; and the best section in the Shannon Lin and Shannon Chua, and my awesome jumping Smoke Signal and bothering Opinion to newsies Mekala and skills to Erika Cherk and Avery.

Allan.

I, Simin Wang, bequeath Sharon Chung my awesome drama-watching skills and my love for Kang-ah.

I, Melissa Zhang, bequeath my extreme procrastination skills to Felicia Gao. Good Luck.

I, Sloka Gundala, bequeath my stop talking moments to I, Meredith Leu, bequeath Go Club to Joshua, Binjih, Colin, Jennifer Sekar, awesome precalc quotes to Sneha Jayaprakash, and lots of debate love to the LD team.

David, Calvin, Taipei, Brian, and Nicky and his incredible laugh. Take care and be awesome you guys.

I, Sneha Lingam, bequeath goggle checks and my many wands to the Insomniacs, and sisterly love to Manaswini and I, Michelle Chen, bequeath Winnie Ding my effortless my ohm-ies Anehandrew and Chabukus (aka Sumukh). straight hair.

I, Mihir Jain, bequeath my senioritis to Manaswini Avvari and Ryan Tang, my VHS player and urbandictionary.com to James Ho, and a year’s supply of SPAM and a great senior year to Allison Hwang and Polly Ma.

The Smoke Signal

I, Vaishaal Shankar, bequeath my slackery to Connor Williams to keep Cross Country fun, my common sense to Dinakar Guthy (he needs it), and some courage to Avery Kruger.

I, Valerie Gadjali, bequeath Kyle Lam my study spree that gave me my high scores and Daniel Zhu my Senioritis when his senior year comes.

I, Vicky Chang, bequeath my love for softball to next year’s Varsity Softball players.

I, Victoria Cheung, bequeath Mindy Lai Leona’s cuteness so that she will be a troll, give her a bridge. Also, Andrew Han, Michelle Huang, Brian Hou, and all my pole-vault children love.

I, Victoria Lin, bequeath my gratitude to Jessica Ko. I, Vishal Yadav, bequeath the bro-code to Dinakar, courage to Avery, XC fun to Connor, the amazing A&E section to Maya and Alekya, breathing to Nick, my future hot LA guy friends to Diya, my speed to Madison, and polygamous bromances to Aamir.

I, Vivian Zhang, bequeath my street smarts to TC, my maturity to Shan (hopefully), my Korean rage to Allison Cho, my genius skills to Hil, my Senioritis to Angela Zhu, and the fight for the cure to Sophia!

I, William Gu, bequeath to posterity MSJ’s lack adasical administration, a rundown campus, and a few truly amazing teachers.

I, Willie Wang, bequeath my awesomeness to Mr. Brucker’s first period freshmen. I hope they could use it to succeed in life.

I, Yanni Dzoan, bequeath Minnie and my love for dogs to my brother Garrick Dzoan, my laughter to Leslie Chan, and my iPhone games to Shannon Lin. I, Yema Jalal, bequeath my Algebra Two book to Tamim Sarwary & my coolness to Omeed Etemadi.

I, Spandana Mantravadi, bequeath my half of the house to Sahitya, my library of slow cheesy songs to Shreyas, and to Diya I give you everything you need to be as cool as me.

I, Zahra Sarwary, bequeath my SAT book to Tamim Sarwary and my Spanish speaking skills to Ryan Walleman.

I, Stephenie Yuan, bequeath my Key Club love to Monica Chitre, my laugh to Nicole Tan, my Key Club spirit to Michelle Lee, Kevin to Clara Cheng, my heart to Peer Resource ’10-’11 and newbies, and my hugs to Kathyrn Huang.

I, Zaki Sarwary, bequeath my SAT books to my kid sister Zohal, and my atheletic abilities to my little cousin, Tamim Sarwary.

organized by aishwarya thankur, angie wang, ditha balaji & jonathon teng; layout and graphics by staff writers frank chen & alice zalan

19 Opinion

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Friday, June 3, 2011

GUEST

GRAPHICS

guest artist rachel lee,10

guest artist kim nguyen

, 11

guest artist michael choi, 10

guest artist leena yin, 10

guest artist frank zhu, 12 guest artist avery kruger, 11

guest artist steven wong, 12 guest artist sherry xiao, 10

guest artist linda shih

guest artist misha khalil, 11

, 11 guest artist bobby xiong, 11

guest artist kevin he, 11

guest artist harpreet gill, 11

20 Arts & Entertainment

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Friday, June 3, 2011

summer entertainment.

By Matt Farberov. Maya Ramachandran, and Ellie Wong Staff Writers

Looking for the best fireworks in the Bay? Do you want to “Get Sleazy” with Ke$ha? Maybe a dose of summer blockbusters is more your style. Get ready to be entertained this summer.

Stern Grove San Francisco’s Sigmund Stern Grove is a natural amphitheater, surrounded by majestic eucalyptus, redwood, and fir trees. Its natural acoustics make it the ideal location for open-air music concerts available to the public free of charge. The Stern Grove has been home to a wide variety of performances every summer Sunday since 1932, and it provides the perfect place to relax while listening to quality music. Performances are usually ethnic, jazz, or soul, with the San Francisco Symphony and Ballet making appearances every season. If you don’t feel like traveling all the way to San Francisco, you can attend “Music at the Park,” a smaller version of Stern Grove, every summer weekend at Lake Elizabeth.

San Francisco Pride This year marks the 41st year of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration and Parade, a weekend celebration with a parade down Market Street in San Francisco on June 26. The parade consists of hundreds of contingents, or groups displaying their unique artistic flair with their costumes and floats, which make Pride “the largest gathering of LGBT people and allies in the nation.” Vendors, booths, live shows, and dance stages strategically placed along the route make this event extremely entertaining, attracting famous artists such as Lady Gaga and the Asian pop sensation BoA. This year’s parade, with the theme “In Pride We Trust,” is predicted to be one the city will never forget.

Fourth of July Fireworks San Francisco’s Pier 39 celebrates Independence Day with a whole day of food and live entertainment, culminating with a milliondollar fireworks display over the San Francisco Bay. To get up close and personal with the fireworks, buy a ticket for the Blue and Gold Fleet, cruises that depart from Pier 41, which makes it possible to view the fireworks show from the water. Or take a trip to the Berkeley Marina for live music, international food, free sailboat rides, and another firework display once the sun goes down. Indian Rock, a volcanic-rock park in Berkeley, provides the best of both worlds. From this point, you can see the San Francisco fireworks along with the Berkeley Marina and Oakland displays.

Ke$ha: Get Sleazy Tour with LMFAO Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, September 14.

Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster for $50.

Rihanna and Cee Lo Green Oracle Arena, Oakland, June 30.

Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster for $30-116.

Bruno Mars Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, June 8.

Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster for $38.

Katy Perry HP Pavilion, San Jose, August 12.

Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster for $45-60.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon ( July 1) The third installment of the Transformers series revolves around a race between the Autobots and Decepticons to reach a spacecraft on the moon. New additions to the movie will include Sam Witwicky’s (Shia LaBeouf ) new love interest, Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), and Unicron, a Decepticon ally who can transform into a planet. Like its prequels, Dark of the Moon will please any action-hungry viewer.

Cal Shakes Cal Shakes is Berkeley’s award-winning Shakespearean theater that “strive[s] for everyone…to discover the relevance of Shakespeare.” The company performs four plays every year in the Bruns Amphitheater, a beautiful and unique outdoor setting nestled beneath the East Bay hills in the Siesta Valley between Berkeley and Orinda. On chilly nights, food and blankets are provided to augment the entertainment provided by the live play. Cal Shakes is presenting two shows this summer: Titus Andronicus, a revenge tragedy common during Shakespeare’s time, and The Verona Project, an innovative musical based on Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Warped Tour: Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View July 2.

Having established itself as the year’s hottest rock haven, Warped Tour features up to 100 bands from all over the rock scene. Warped Tour stops at over 40 locations throughout the US and Canada. This year’s top picks include Attack Attack, 3OH!3, A Day To Remember, and Paramore. Tickets can be purchased through Live Nation for about $45.

Outside Lands Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, August 12-14.

San Francisco’s own three-day music festival never fails to draw a large crowd. The event will take over Golden Gate Park for a bonanza of food, art, wine, and of course, music. Featuring a diverse line-up of over 50 bands, Outside Lands caters to every individuals music taste. This year’s headliners include Muse, Deadmau5, MGMT, and Arcade Fire. Regular 3-tickets are now on sale from Ticketmaster for $199.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II ( July 15) The second part of the two-part film follows Harry, Ron, and Hermione back to Hogwarts one last time as they try to find and destroy Voldemort’s final horcruxes. The director, David Yates, noted that Part II will be more colorful and fantasy-oriented while including huge battles, a fitting end for the beloved and long-running franchise.

Comic Book Based Movies: X-Men: First Class ( June 3), Green Lantern ( June 17), Captain America: The First Avenger ( July 22) X-Men: First Class charts the very beginning of the X-Men saga. Like Origins, it goes back to a time before Charles was Professor X and Erik was Magneto. Green Lantern, follows the adventure of Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds), the first human selected to join the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic police force. After recruitment, Hal is put to the test as a new enemy, the Parallax, threatens the universe. Contrasting to the futuristic theme of Green Lantern is Captain America: The First Avenger. Set in 1942, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) volunteers for Project: Rebirth, a secret military operation, transforming into a supersoldier dubbed Captain America, whose first assignment is to stop Red Skull, Hitler’s head of advanced weaponry.

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Arts & Entertainment 21

Restaurant Review: Strizzi’s Restaurant

By Sonia Dhawan & Megan McLaughlin Feature Editor & News Editor

Next to Fremont Hub is one of Fremont’s culinary secrets – Strizzi’s Restaurant. Featuring both Italian and American cuisine, Strizzi’s provides the perfect atmosphere for date night, girls’ night, or game night. The menu offers a variety of options for meat lovers and vegetarians alike, and never sacrifices the flavor.

feature editor sonia dhawan

feature editor sonia dhawan

Ambiance and Service Strizzi’s decor focuses on its Italian roots: it was founded in 1929 as an Italian deli and shoe shop in Pennsylvania, and pictures of the Strizzi family are displayed on the walls, reminding customers of the Italian sense of family and community. As soon as we entered the restaurant, we were greeted and promptly seated by a wait staff who seemed happy to see us despite an already bustling restaurant. The large restaurant feels cozy, and our table was nestled close to another. Still, it wasn’t too noisy despite our proximity to the kitchen and the two large televisions behind the bar. Strizzi’s is the perfect escape from those Fremont doldrums, and features food that is reminiscent of the home country.

Rating: AFood Strizzi’s is an Italian restaurant, but it doesn’t limit itself to the traditional spaghetti and meatballs. We began with piping hot garlic fries. They could have had more garlic, but were obviously fresh and the real potato wedges and dipping sauces were satisfying. We ordered the wood grilled chicken and Cajun chicken risotto. Both meals were filling and beautifully presented. The chicken was bedecked in fresh mushrooms, and came with sides of creamy mashed potatoes and a medley of fresh vegetables. The risotto was sprinkled with parsley and red pepper, but was on the spicy side for those with more sensitive pal-

ates. Even though we could barely finish our entrées, we decided to order the brownie sundae. The dessert consisted of two large wedges of brownie spotted with chocolate chip chunks and two scoops of creamy French vanilla ice cream. The brownie wedges could have been heated and were a bit hard to chew, but the caramel and chocolate drizzle over the savory sweets was the perfect touch.

Rating: A Price The price of a meal at Strizzi’s is a far cry from the $6 burrito bowl one could order at neighboring Chipotle, but the quality of the food is worth the price. Pastas range from $13 to $20, while the wood grilled entrées all cost around $20. Appetizers can serve two to four people and are priced at $2 to $8.

While Strizzi’s may not be the cheapest option for lunch, take-out is available and slightly less expensive than a sit-down meal.

On the take-out menu, both pastas and wood grilled entrees cost around $10 to $15. Call 10 minutes ahead for pasta and 15 minutes ahead for wood grilled items. The take-out menu is available online at www.strizzis.com/takeout_ fremont.html.

Rating: B Overall We left Strizzi’s after two hours feeling very full and very satisfied with our dining experience. The meal portions were big enough to justify the prices, and the attentive waitstaff made sure our dining experience was excellent.

Strizzi’s is the place to go to find savory food that beats the items at any one of Fremont’s usual restaurants. We strongly recommend it, so head down to Strizzi’s at 2740 Mowry. ▪ Rating: A-

Need New Music? Try These Sites

By Anthony Chen Staff Writer

Are you sick of the radio? Several types of websites have sprung up to fill the niche and help you find the tunes you’re looking for. Some websites allow you to browse for what’s popular at the moment or what the critics like, while others give you personal music suggestions. All of them are free to use, so happy hunting! on a complex algorithm (part of the Music Genome Project) that compares over 400 traits of a song to find something similar. The selection of music does tend to be more mainstream, and you’ll hear more tracks you already know. Unlike last.fm, with Pandora you can mix very different genres together to create personalized radio stations.

Stereomood (stereomood.com)

Hype Machine (hypem.com) The internet abounds with music lovers who regularly blog about songs and albums, especially concerning new releases, but finding these blogs and searching through them is a tedious task. That’s where The Hype Machine comes into play. This website aggregates the best of the music blogosphere and displays popularity charts, as judged by how many “likes” a song gets. You can also follow your friends to see what songs they’ve liked. The music featured by the website is a mix of everything, but electronic music (especially remixes) and indie artists tend to be prominent; the music is also all very new, as many tracks are leaks and haven’t been released yet. Hypem.com also provides concert listings.

Pandora (pandora.com) Pandora is also an internet radio website. It recommends songs, however, based not on your personal listening record but

charts that display popular songs, concert listings, and lists of what songs your friends have liked.

Stereomood is an internet radio website that aggregates songs from music blogs and presents them in playlists to suit moods or activities, like “relax,” “Sunday morning,” “gangsta,” “jogging,” or “lost in Jamaica.”

The music presented has its fair share of indie artists and electronic artists, and the music is very much non-mainstream.

Last.Fm (last.fm.com) Last.fm is an internet radio website that plays songs based on your listening record and your favorite songs. It’s incredibly useful for discovering new music from any specific genre that you like. Last.fm’s choice of music is one of the widest as it includes mainstream music as well as foreign music like Kpop, obscure indie artists, and even artists popular on Youtube like David Choi. It also links you to similar artists. Like hypem.com, last.fm also has

ters though, such as the ability to select certain genres or decades. Musicovery’s music selection includes more music from earlier decades, but lacks in breadth, omitting many popular modern artists.

thesixtyone (thesixtyone.com) Thesixtyone allows artists to upload their own work, which is then sorted into popularity charts based on how many “likes” a song gets (like The Hype Machine). The music featured is mostly indie rock. The old version of the website (old. thesixtyone.com) is much more practical for finding music, while the new version provides much more eye candy with its high-resolution photography and excellent design. ▪

Musicovery (musicovery.com) Musicovery is another internet radio website, and like last.fm it recommends songs based on your favorite ones. Unlike normal internet radios, however, the sound quality is terrible – to get a better sound quality, you have to pay for their premium service. Musicovery does include more filhypem.com, stereomood.com, last.fm, pandora.com, thesixtyone.com, musicovery.com

22 Arts & Entertainment

Gaga Stays On Top

blog.trendstop.com

By Vaishaal Shankar Staff Writer

Since Lady Gaga’s meteoric rise to fame with The Fame in 2008, she suddenly established herself as this generation’s “Queen of Pop.” Those who labeled her talent as just a onealbum wonder are proven wrong, because Born This Way avoids any sophomore slump.

As usual, Gaga tries to cover numerous themes throughout her album: religion, freedom and identity are all addressed. Underneath the saxophones, keyboards and all the other quirks, there is a message this is not the usual pop trash that is blasted on the radio. Gaga does not try to change what worked in her previous album. Those who disliked Fame will not be drawn to this in any way. Her fans, however, will love this.

A heavy use of synthesizers permeates the entire album, in keeping with her signature sound.

“Born This Way,” the titular song, is crafted perfectly; it is exactly what Gaga fans are looking for. The song starts off with a catchy beat, and then becomes an awesome pop orchestra with Gaga right in the middle. Surprisingly, “Born This Way” is one of her “less crazy” songs in comparison to the rest of the album. For example, “Road to Love” is a song dedicated to unicorns and their love; it’s surreal and something only Gaga can pull off well.

Other standout songs include “Americano,” which addresses Arizona’s immigration policy, “Schiesse,” which seems like a German techno song, and “Marry the Night,” which asks one to embrace darkness.

What this album seems to lack, however is the one breakout song that everybody embraces. No “Poker Face” or “Bad Romance” here, which is slightly disappointing, but the album as a whole is significantly stronger.

Gaga creates an album tailored for both her loyal fans and the general masses. She has changed the face of club-oriented pop; no longer does it have to be pointless and repetitive. Instead, she creates songs that achieve great social commentary but still maintain the necessary beat to be considered “pop.” Gaga has proven herself once again with this masterpiece. ▪ Rating: A-

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‘Hangover’ Not Pleasant

By Vishal Yadav A&E Editor

Wedding in jeopardy, crazy bachelor party, memory-erasing hangovers, trashed hotel room, and signs of a wild night:; sound familiar? This describes the 2009 hit The Hangover. It also perfectly describes the film’s 2011 sequel, The Hangover: Part II. Yes, the wolf pack is back, this time in Bangkok rather than the glamorous Vegas.The change in locati on, however, is perhaps the only significant change from the original film.

This time, Stu (Ed Helms), instead of Doug (Justin Bartha), is the one getting married. Having learned his lesson from Doug’s bachelor party, Stu refuses to have any extravagant celebration. At the urging of his friends, Doug, Phil (Bradley Cooper), and crowd-favorite Alan (Zach Galifianakis), Stu relents,

agreeing to a simple beach bonfire. As expected, the night goes awry – one drink and two bags of marshmallows later, the adventure begins.

The plot moves forward exactly as we would expect. Sometime in the middle of their night of debauchery, Stu, Phil, and Alan lose track of Teddy (Mason Lee), the brother of Stu’s soonto-be wife, Lauren (Jamie Chung).

They spend the film trying to find him by piecing together what happened the previous night, just as they did with Doug in the first film.

Admittedly, The Hangover: Part II does have its pluses. Galifianakis is hilariously awkward as Alan, using both his passive aggression and cluelessness to dominate every scene in which he appears. Ken Jeong deserves note as well, reprising his role as the ridiculously flamboyant, foul-mouthed gangster Mr. Chow. Rounding out the strong

performances is a drug-carrying, cigarette-smoking monkey, who gives both Galifianakis and Jeong a run for their money with his shameless antics.

Ultimately, the film fails to live up to the standard set by its predecessor. The Hangover was a success because it was based on a fresh concept. There is no such new ground broken here. Perhaps as a means to make up for this, the filmmakers decided to push the boundaries of on-screen vulgarity. This might be acceptable if the scenes could generate enough laughs to offset the audience’s cringes and groans. Sadly, they don’t.

For those who have not seen the original film, watch that instead; it’s much funnier than its sequel, and you will save ten bucks. To those diehard Hangover fans who are set on watching Part II no matter what: don’t expect much. Oh, and avoid the credits. ▪ Rating: C

www.filmofilia.com

By Mary Lan Staff Writer

‘Pirates’ Sinks

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back, swashbuckling his way through the latest Pirates of the Caribbean adventure, On Stranger Tides. But his motive from the last movie to seek immortality is not quite clear this time.

He is all but forced to the Fountain of Youth by Angelica (Penelope Cruz), a past love who also happens to be the infamous Blackbeard’s daughter.

For those who have never seen a Pirates movie and want to join the excitement: go ahead, have fun. It’s a terrifically mindless bit of entertainment that makes little sense, with too many characters in a plot overdosed with uncomfortable romance, and absurd

coincidences (so everything works out in the end).

For fans who have seen the past three movies: just pretend the series ended at At World’s End, because this fourth episode wanders far from an actual story and steers toward a formulaic franchise that isn’t fooling anyone. Everything is a parody of earlier ideas.

In the past, there was a new focus every time that developed a circumlocutory story: cursed Aztec gold, the heart of Davy Jones, and a dying era.

The focus here is merely a quest to gather semi-magical items like ingredients for soup. As a follow-up act to the monstrous Kraken and ships battling in a hurricane, this movie’s Impressive Special Effects Award goes to mermaids that suddenly develop fangs.

Lack of CGI leaves plenty of room for character development and a good plot, but there is only room for introductions to a flood of new characters (left enigmas for a sequel). The story is a Rube Goldberg machine: coercion, escape scene, pyrotechnics, swordfight, romantic tension, and repeat ‘x’ number of times until the same old closing act.

For potential movie-goers: ye be warned to accept ill-detailed concepts (like the central driving force of Blackbeard seeking immortality) that can defeat the purpose of the story. Blackbeard has zombie officers that seem just like human beings (albeit stronger and uglier), but differ in that they do not die. Why seek the Fountain when you can just be zombified? ▪ Rating: C

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Friday, June 3, 2011

Death Cab No Longer Cute

last.fm

By Jamie Lin Staff Writer

Codes and Keys, Death Cab for Cutie’s seventh album, seems to fall pretty much in line with what is expected from the indie rock band. It has all the quiet and steady solemnity DCFC is known for, but this album is perhaps just a little too quiet and a little too solemn to be enjoyable.

The album is weighed down by lead track “Home Is a Fire” and first single “You Are a Tourist,” both of which clock in at over six minutes each. The tracks are long, and worse, they feel long. It’s hard to follow the direction of the songs, as the moods change suddenly and leave the listener wondering if they are listening to another song altogether.

It makes fans wonder if perhaps creating exclusive tracks for films like The Twilight Saga: New Moon, rather than focusing on the band’s own direction, has dulled vocalist and primary songwriter Ben Gibbard’s writing spark. Certainly listening to the overly mellow tracks of Codes and Keys has this fan longing for the bite of the last two albums, Plans and Narrow Stairs.

That’s not to say Codes and Keys is completely lackluster. Title track “Codes and Keys” has a solid piano accompaniment, although the piano here, like with many of the other songs, feels slightly heavy-handed as it tends to overpower Gibbard’s vocals. Still, the piano and his voice act as perfect complements to each other on this song more than others.

It’s the more high-energy and guitar-based tracks that lift this album up, like “Doors Unlocked and Open” and “Monday Morning.”

Lighthearted “Underneath the Sycamore” was a cute and fresh breath of air in the album, and echoes somewhat of Gibbard’s wife Zooey Deschanel, indie actress of (500) Days of Summer fame and the She in folk duo She & Him. Codes and Keys isn’t really a bad album; the eleven tracks are all good in their own right. But it’s not particularly remarkable, either, or maybe it just requires decoding and unlocking over time. For a summer release, it’s just a bit too sleepy, so for now, if fans really want their Death Cab fix, they’d probably be happier re-listening to some of their older gems. ▪ Rating: B-

Friday, June 3, 2011

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24 Sports

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By Grace Han & Amit Patankar Sports Editors

Take nine: “farewell” This year, a few players and coaches retired and ended their careers. After spending most of your life in a league and leaving a lasting impact on your franchise and community, retirement can be very bittersweet. A few people are blessed with the opportunity to retire at the right time, with no regrets and a successful career. On the other hand, some retirements don’t happen so smoothly. Scandals can also force a player to leave a franchise in order to avoid the negative media attention.

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Phil Jackson celebrates winning his last championship in 2010.

Every now and then the departure of a legendary player or coach leaves shockwaves echoing throughout the league. Although all legacies and dynasties eventually come to an end, Phil Jackson’s departure from the NBA is sad news for all basketball fans regardless of what teams they support. Since the Jor-

dan era in the 90’s Phil Jackson has won 11 championships with two different teams, the most all-time for any coach.

Jackson joined the Bulls coaching staff in 1987. After perfecting the triangle offense, he led the Bulls to six championships while mentoring superstar Michael Jordan.

After vowing never to coach again, Jackson returned in 1999 to the Los Angeles Lakers, turning the franchise around and leading them to three championships in a row. After a rough patch until 2008, Jackson coached the Lakers to two more championships and retired in 2011 after going for yet another three-peat. Although Jackson ended his career getting swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals, his overall career was impressive and makes up for his poor last season.

The other big name in sports who retired was Tampa Bay slugger Manny Ramirez, who stepped down after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Instead of facing a 100 game suspension, Ramirez chose to leave the MLB and spend time with his family.

Ramirez was a critical part of the 2004 Boston Red Sox team that won the World Series and broke an 86 year title drought.

Ramirez then left the Red Sox for the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, he was dealt a 50 game suspension for a positive steroid test. After signing a contract this year with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Ramirez retired early in the season after he tested positive again. With 555 home runs under his belt, Ramirez’s career could have ended respect-

Powderpuff football takes MSJ by storm

By Elisa Ting Editor-in-Chief

Later today, the senior and junior classes will face off in a game of powderpuff held at TAK stadium. Powderpuff is the female version of football, but instead of 11 offensive and defensive players on the field at the same time, powderpuff has seven offensive and defensive positions. This is the first year powderpuff will be played at MSJ, although it has been a tradition for other high schools in the district for many years now.

Huo is the head coach of the senior powderpuff team, while Junior Kyaw Win is the head coach for the juniors. In preparation for a strong offense, Win has drawn out a playbook that he uses to run practice with. The juniors have about seven plays that they run comfortably and they plan to use these to penetrate the seniors’ defense.

Both the junior and senior classes have about 10 to 15 girls playing on the team. For the seniors, one of the biggest difficulties was figuring out a practice schedule that could accommodate all of the players. Since some girls

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fully with no regrets, but now he is left to wonder for the rest of his life whether his decision was the correct one. Rather than be remembered as a great player, Ramirez will be known for being caught twice with performance enhancing drugs. His decision to retire is disgraceful and a bad reflection on the MLB and the teams he played for.

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Manny Ramirez’s drug problems ruined an otherwise commendable career.

Saying goodbye is never easy. Sometimes players have second thoughts about their decision and return thirsty for more championships. We have seen it in the past with players questioning their decision to retire and returning to play again (Brett Favre and Michael Jordan anyone?). Some careers end with tragedy and uncertainty while some end with a resounding bang. Regardless of whichever one a career ends with, the world of sports is a never ending cycle of new talent replacing old classics. Athletes and coaches should learn to embrace retirement and end their legacies respectably and without doubt.

Failure to do so leaves a mark on their success that they have worked so hard to achieve. ▪

The idea of powderpuff emerged when Senior Emily Sutedja heard about the game from Washington High School students. At Washington, the game has been a tradition for so long that even teachers and principals have participated in it when they were high school students. Irvington and American High School have also attempted to start the tradition, but Washington’s legacy of powderpuff has lasted the longest.

Sutedja heard of this idea in January of 2011 and approached Assistant Principal Diane Brumbaugh with the idea of bringing powderpuff to MSJ. Brumbaugh, a graduate of Washington High School, then contacted Washington to see how they ran the game.

Since powderpuff is treated as a high school sport, all players are required to turn in physical and parent consent forms. Once all forms are turned in, players are then eligible to play. Because of this process, most of the girls on the team are athletes from other high school sports. Each team also has coaches that run every practice to ensure that the girls understand the rules of football. Senior Kevin

staff writers frank chen and sanjna shukla

are already on sports teams, they had practices to attend after school and therefore did not have time to attend powderpuff practice.

However, the greatest difficulty for the junior class is remembering the plays that Win has drawn up. “Catching the ball or throwing the ball is not as hard as remembering what to do out [on the field] and remembering all the terminologies,” said Junior Ilene Tsao.

Although powderpuff is a friendly sport, it also includes a competitive aspect, and the junior and senior classes feel as if the class rivalry from Homecoming could resurface again.

“Any sport that requires competition is going to result in rivalry of some sort,” said Sutedja.

Regardless of the rivalries that may resurface, both the seniors and juniors believe that the game is bringing the girls together as a class.

“It’s nice to hang out with people outside of your group so we bond more,” Sutedja said, referring to the chemistry during practices.

Come watch the first annual powderpuff game tonight at TAK Stadium at 6:30 pm and witness a new tradition at its greatest! Admission is $5. ▪

A special message from Amit and Grace:

graphics editor sarah li

Yet another year has come and gone. From the “Pilot” to the “Farewell”, we hope you have gotten a good sense of our take on the world of sports. We certainly have enjoyed sharing our thoughts with you, and urge you to take a similar approach in expressing your views, whatever the situation.

We are now ready to step down to hand the reigns to your future Sports editors, Omar ElSadany and Sanjna Shukla. We have the utmost confidence that they will continue the tradition of the section while introducing a new spin that will leave you on the edge of your seats. It’s been a fantastic year, and it’s definitely hard to say goodbye. But the time has come, and so we leave you with this final thought: a message we’ve advocated from the beginning. No matter the situation, speak the honest truth and be sure to AdMIT it with GRACE. ▪

graphics editor sarah li

Our time here is done. It’s now up to Omar El-Sadany and Sanjna Shukla to take the reigns.

CONGRATULATIONS MISSION WARRIORS! Congratulations to the Badminton team for winning every single event at NCS and taking 1st place overall.

Congratulations to Senior Zaki Sarwary on his recognition as one of the top 125 East Bay Athletes of the Year.

Congratulations to Sophomore Ariel Cheng for qualifying for the CIF Track and Field State March & April Ad in pole vault.

Championships

The juniors and seniors practice after school in preparation for the game.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Congratulations to Seniors Grace Han and Neil Marion on their recognition among the 2011 CIF/Farmers Scholar Athletes of the Year.

Congratulations to the following teams on their recognition as Scholastic Championship teams: • Softball • Boy’s Volleyball • Baseball • Boy’s Swimming • Girl’s Swimming • Boy’s Track and Field • Girl’s Track and Field • Badminton • Boy’s Tennis

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Friday, June 3, 2011

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Boys’ volleyball sweeps Cal

NCS Coverage

Easily advances past first round of NCS

By Jonathon Teng Staff Writer

On May 17, with much support from the student body, MSJ’s boys’ volleyball team played a first round NCS match against the California High School Grizzlies. Deafening chants of “Boo-yah” and “MSJ” roared from the crammed bleachers in MSJ’s gym throughout the three set match. Coming off a win against Mission earlier in the season, the Grizzlies looked eager to continue their streak, but they were swept by the Mission Warriors, 25-22, 2523, 25-18. Several notable players included Junior Captain Michael Wang, with 13 kills and 9 digs, Senior Captain Zaki Sarwary with 11 kills and 6 digs, and Senior Captain Jeffrey Kanemitsu with 34 assists, 4 digs, and 3 blocks.

The Warriors immediately began the game strong and fresh, with several kills from both Wang and Sophomore Alvin Zhou. However, the battered Grizzlies regained their composure and began battling back

to bring the score to 18-15. Both teams traded several points before Kanemitsu closed off the first set, 25-22, with a setter dump.

Encouraged by the early win, the Warriors started the second set with a 10-3 run, due to nearly impeccable defense by Kanemitsu and Sophomore Brennon Ng. However, MSJ soon succumbed and lost this early lead with several errors. As a result, Head Coach Daniel Yang called a timeout, giving the Warriors the boost they needed to execute several crucial plays to stretch out the score to 24-20. Again, MSJ had several errors to bring the Grizzlies within one point, 24-23. On the last play of the set, the Grizzlies missed a crucial spike and the Warriors took the second set, 25-23.

After defeating the Grizzlies for two straight sets, the Warriors took another early lead in the third set at 7-1. By then, the cheering from the Mission students significantly intensified. Still, the Grizzlies rallied back. However, the Grizzlies’ hope was smothered by a massive kill by

staff writer jonathon teng

Wang that sent the volleyball flying into the stands. With a dominating lead, Sarwary hit a serve that barely toppled over the net, ending the match and the last set at 25-18.

Wang said after the game, “After our previous loss to California High School, we, as a team, simply decided that it was time to get down to business and we went into the game with that mindset. We came out tough and the crowd was on our side. I’m glad we worked hard.”

The Warriors eventually lost to De La Salle High School the following Thursday, ending the season with a record of 24-7. ▪

staff writer jonathon teng

Junior Michael Wang and Sophomore Alvin Zhou prepare to receive their opponent’s’ serve.

Exercise

NHL Playoffs: From Sharks to Minnows

By Sanjna Shukla Staff Writer

Senior Zaki Sarwary prepares to smash a serve.

tips :

They did it. The San Jose Sharks didn’t choke in the playoffs. Our beloved Sharks have an unprecedented knack for losing to “Cinderella” teams early in the playoff season.

This year, however, they broke that record.

For example, in the 200809 playoff run, the Sharks let us all down after losing to the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 in the first round. In the 2010 playoff season, they lost to the underdog Blackhawks 4-2 in the conference finals. This season, they made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row. The Bay Area, although disappointed that the Sharks lost in the conference finals 4-1 to the Vancouver Canucks, has plenty of reason to celebrate after this successful season.

Every year, every season, every playoff run, the Sharks make us hold our breath. Although the Sharks beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 in the first round, they kept us on edge throughout the series. Three out of the six games went into overtime, including Game 6. In Game 3, however, the Sharks overcame a 4-0 goal deficit and ended up winning the game, becoming the fifth team in National Hockey League playoff

history to do so. In the second round against the Detroit Redwings, they were up 3-0 in the series, and let the Redwings tie up the series 3-3. Fortunately, they won in Game 7, but it reminded us that we shouldn’t get too confident.

In the past, the Sharks have done well in the regular season and then completely blew their reputation in the playoffs. This time around, the Sharks were seeded second in the conference because of their hard efforts all season. Usually the underdogs, the Sharks have advanced further than anyone expected them to this playoff season. The only challenge they need to overcome is losing playoff games on the road. Once the Sharks are down in a series, it’s difficult for them to regain momentum. The key to their success will be to life.com step up early and win games early in the series. If the team can avoid being inconsistent, they have a major shot at the title next year.

Only one thing has been stable in the San Jose Sharks franchise throughout the years, fan support.

No matter how unpredictable the team may be, the unwavering fan support keeps their spirit up. Although Sharks fans are heartbroken after witnessing a brutal end to an otherwise successful season, we can successfully say that the Sharks made us proud. ▪

Ways to stay in shape over the summer

By Connor Williams Staff Writer

General Exercises

It’s June, the sun is shining and the worst of testing is almost over! After hours spent preparing for the gauntlet of tests, the average student is pale and weak. Swimsuit season is here and you need to get tan and looking good. So unplug from your iPod, get off your lap top, and put down the remote; it’s time to get ready for summer!

Aerobic Exercise

This is where all of your physical fitness needs to start, because your heart needs to be ready for the exertion. An added plus is that this is the best way to shed the pounds.

Literally aerobic means using the air, and therefore oxygen. So anything that you can think of that makes you breathe harder can be an aerobic exercise. Some of the easiest to start doing are running, swimming, biking, and playing frisbee. The goal is to get your heart pounding. You should be getting a minimum of an hour of aerobic exercise every day, or longer depending on your fitness level.

As with every physical activity you do make sure you are ready for it. Drink lots of water and stay loose. You can do this by stretching after warming up, if you stretch cold you can cause tears in your ligaments and muscles. If you start immediately into running or another repetitive impact sport make sure to keep your joints healthy by not putting too much stress on them too fast.

Sports 25

Squats, pushups, and situps are all simple exercises to practice in order to keep your muscles stimulated and stay healthy.

The Exercises These are some simple body weight exercises to help build some muscle mass on your now lean and mean frame. The exercises hit upon the main muscle groups, and are interchangeable with similar exercises. Make sure you are using proper form and doing them slowly.

-Squats: These should be done with a straight vertical back, lowering until your knees are bent at a right angle with the ground. You should try to keep your knees over your toes and your back vertical. Do up to five reps of 30 each.

-Pull Ups: Obviously these require a pull up bar, or any other sturdy bar to hang off of.

You should place your hands about shoulder width apart with your palms facing you. Then smoothly lift your chin over the bar and smoothly let yourself down. Do three reps of six (you can have a friend lift your feet if you need help finishing).

-Push Ups: Place yourself in a plank position, hands slightly more than shoulder width apart. Then lower yourself until your arms are at right angles. As you lower yourself pinch your shoulder blades together. Make sure that your back and legs stay in a line. Do four reps of 25 to start out.

-Sit Ups: Lay face up on the ground with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.

Sometimes it helps to have a friend hold your feet so you don’t move them. Cross your arms over your chest or hold your head in your hands, then raise your shoulders and body so that your elbows can touch your knees. Do four reps of 30 each.

Getting exercise is only half of the equation, if you aren’t eating right or resting enough you won’t get all of the benefits. Try to get some extra protein in after a workout, for example chocolate milk, a peanut butter and honey sandwich, or a granola bar. Hydration is another huge concern, if you do get dehydrated it can be life threatening.This means drinking often, as much as ten cups per day. This is easily done if you carry a water bottle with you. After excessive exercise in hotter conditions you will need more water to replenish your lost fluids. As long as you are giving your body what it needs to keep getting healthier, then you should start seeing results.

Rest is another factor many athletes forget about. You need time to let your body heal after hard work. This can mean light exercise, like walking, or the obvious one: sleep. Another way to get the most out of your resting time is to loosen your muscles through massage or yoga.

picclick.com

So your hours of blood, sweat, and tears are over, you have earned some amazing, shirt bursting muscles. Make sure to wear tight clothing so everyone can see your rippling abs and no sleeves for those pythons you call biceps. And most importantly: remember to work hard, get fit, and have fun! ▪

photos by staff wrtier ginger werner

26 Sports

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Friday, June 3, 2011

The Smoke Signal

SPORTS YEAR HIGHLIGHTS

By Omar El-Sadany & Sida Lu Staff Writers

Perennially one of the most successful programs the MVAL, MSJ athletics brims with talents across the board from sport to sport and season to season. This year was no different with many teams achieving numerous titles and accolades. With the year drawing to a close, here were some of MSJ’s most successful teams.

Boys’ Volleyball

The Boys’ Volleyball team was in a state of transition this year with a new head coach, alumnus Daniel Yang, leading the way but maintained their level of excellence by going undefeated in MVALs once again to take home their third straight MVAL title. They were seeded fifth in NCS and decimated Deer Valley 3-0 in front of the raucous home crowd. In the second round of NCS, our Warriors met De La Salle and fought hard before ultimately falling in five games, 3-2. In the season, MSJ Volleyball went 24-7 overall, including 10-0 in league.

Girls’ Golf This fall, the Girl’s Golf team, under the leadership of Captains Junior Taneesh Sra and Senior Jorgie Wu, and Junior superstar Madison Hirsch, went through one of the most successful seasons in team history. With a 10-2 season record, the team took first place in MVALs, and an impressive sixth place in NCS. The team also succeeded individually with Hirsch and Sra and Freshmen Amy Huang and Monica Chen placing in the top 30 at NCS.

Track and Field

This season, the MSJ Track and Field team featured a lot of individual success. The Jumps team sent seven athletes to NCS, three of whom have qualified for the Meet of Champions.

Sophomore Ariel Cheng won NCS with a mark of 11’ in pole vaulting for Girls’ Varsity, while Junior Michael Kagan represented the Boys’ Varsity with a mark of 12’. Junior Leona Zhu rounds out the three moving on to Meet of Champions with a mark of 10’. Representing distance at MOCs are Junior Madison Hirsch in the 800 and 1600, and Junior Erika Cherk in the 3200.

Gymnastics One of the less heralded teams on campus despite the grueling hours that are spent in practice, this year MSJ Gymnastics was one of the most successful. The team went 4-0 in the regular season, good enough for first in MVALs. In addition the team had a league high 25 members. At the MVALs tournament, the team continued its dominance, sweeping the all around titles for both divisions, and achieving 6 out of the 10 possible first place medals.

Badminton

Having won NCS six times prior to this year, MSJ’s badminton squad came into this season expecting to dominate and did exactly that. They blew opponents off of the court and posed yet another undefeated league season. At NCS, MSJ swept all five badminton divisions: girls’ singles, boys’ singles, girls’ doubles, boys’ doubles, and mixed doubles by taking at least first in each and recording 136 points as a team—more than three times the number of points the second placed team scored.

Girl’s Basketball

After 16 years of many narrow losses and successful seasons, the Girl’s Basketball team finally won the MVALs title, narrowly ousting James Logan High School in a championship game after both teams tied in the regular season with an 11-1 record (the best record in school history). In addition the team went 14-1 in preseason, leaving their overall record at an impressive 25-2.

The team was also awarded a 4th seed in the NCS playoffs, a testament to the team’s fantastic success throughout the season.

Baseball

Girl’s Tennis

With a rich history of success in MVALs, the Girl’s Tennis team continued their dominance of the league this year. With a strong lineup featuring Senior Captains Sonia Fan and Sahana Kribakaran, the team attained an 11-1 record in the league.

In addition to a strong pre and regular season, the team performed well at the MVAL tournament before moving on to the second round of NCS, demonstrating that the hard work that began from the summer paid off.

This season, the MSJ Baseball team experienced an unprecedented level of success. Despite a new coach, the team maintained an impressive 15-9 overall season record. Under the leadership of Senior Captains Kevin Roche, Coren Randall, Robyn Torrence, and Matt Imhoff the team’s highlight of the season came in a hard-fought 1-0 victory against league champions and previously undefeated James Logan High School. In addition, the team qualified for NCS for the first time in 19 years.

MSJ Year End Scoreboard

Boys’ Cross Country

Gymnastics

Girls’ Soccer

Boys’ Volleyball

4-2 3rd Place in MVAL

5-0 MVAL Champions

4-7-1 5th Place in MVAL

10-0 MVAL Champions

Girls’ Cross Country

Girls’ Golf

Wrestling

Boys’ Swimming

4-2 3rd Place in MVAL

4-0 MVAL Champions

4-2 3rd Place in MVAL

6-0 MVAL Champions

Football

Girls’ Volleyball

Baseball

Girls’ Swimming

0-6 7th Place in MVAL

8-4 3rd Place in MVAL

6-6 4th Place in MVAL

6-0 MVAL Champions

Boys’ Basketball

Softball

1-11 7th Place in MVAL

1-11 7th Place in MVAL

Boys’ Water Polo

Girls’ Basketball

Boys’ Golf

6-4 3rd Place in MVAL

11-1 MVAL Champions

3-1 2nd Place in MVAL

Girls’ Tennis

Boys’ Soccer

Badminton

11-1 MVAL Champions

2-6-2 6th Place in MVAL

12-0 MVAL Champions

Girls’ Water Polo 8-2 2nd Place in MVAL

Boys’ Track and Field 2-4 5th Place in MVAL Girls’ Track and Field 3-3 4th Place in MVAL Boys’ Tennis 8-4 3rd Place in MVAL photos by smoke signal staff, records by tom thomsen

Friday, June 3, 2011

The Smoke Signal

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Friday, June 3, 2011

photos by graphics editors sarah li and cassie zhang and staff writer angie wang