The Eleight March 2012 edition

Student Spotlight, 6

In-Depth, page 10

Fiddler on the Roof, page 17

Happily Never After, page 14

Art Show, page 4

An Independent Publication of Leigh High School

Volume 50 Issue No. 5 March 29, 2012

Say “nihao” to ASL Leigh and Branham are acquiring American Sign Language and Mandarin classes in the coming The district is We have many Leigh students that are conable to go to West Valley and take a year, respectively course there, and it’s actually free of offering current enrollMarissa Rodriguez Editor-in-Chief Sadie Williams Visuals Editor “I would say that they want to give more options to the students, specifically for American Sign Language” said Jennifer Halas, Leigh High School’s guidance counselor of the new additions to our foreign language options next year.

“The thing with American Sign Language is it is a class that we have an agreement with West Valley College; it’s called concurrent enrollment.

cost to our students. It’s going to be a West Valley instructor that’s teaching the American Sign Language course.”

When Leigh students began to choose their schedules for the 2012-2013 school year, many were surprised to see American Sign Language and Mandarin Chinese as new foreign language options, in light of the many programs throughout the district facing severe budget cuts.

Even so, our future teacher for ASL hails from West Valley, which makes the budget hardships lighter on Leigh’s shoulders, as the community college pays for their service.

ment plan for ASL o n

Pictured in Longhorn: Josh Sayre performing at Literaleigh’s Open Mic Night on Mar. 1.

School’s campus.

Classes will start after the normal school day has ended, at 2:30 pm.

The course lasts one “Leigh semester” but gives credit for an entire year of the language.

Depending on how first semester goes, Leigh may offer ASL 2 in the second semester.

Leigh’s campus and Mandarin on Branham High

Students are already showing their excitement about the new classes by beginning the enrollment process.

“People are excited and happy that they have decided to add a new language” said Branham freshman, Sarah Growitz. Students are seeing out-of-the-classroom benefits in these communication opportunities.

Growitz continues, “I think it will effect the social dynamic on campus because you’ll be able to communicate with the hard of hearing.”

The variety that we are unaccustomed to also appeals to our district.

“They want to give more options to the students [...] It’s a good branching opportunity” said Halas.

“I think that these languages are good classes for the school board because it’s something new and not many schools offer it” said Growitz.

photos by Jinny Jung

Spring has flung:

Spring Fever visits Leigh in the form of Spring Fling Week first spirit day, Big League Day. Students were encouraged to dress in sports-related paraphernalia. The Big Man and Big Woman candidates partook in a relay race with three parts; the first being a race to the next checkpoint via skateboards and plungers, the next being a jumprope race, and finally a race to complete a Brian

ing and sprinkles. Tobias Bleisch and Amanda Cendejas emerged victorious.

“I had to sprint from the hall“milking” a fake udder on big man latway to the table to get my ed candidate Andrew Jerrom.

Kylie Brown beard on!” exclaimed Bleisch. to the Editor-in-Chief Each day, leadership students gave various spirit days celebrated out free snacks like popcorn and throughout the week.

On Fri During the week of Mar. 19, slushies to students dressed in atthe leadership class helped usher day, Mar. 16, the Big Man and tire corresponding to the theme.

Big Woman candidates were anin spring with the annual Spring

The following day was Big nounced in the quad: For Big Fling Week. This year’s Spring Fling Kahuna Day, where the heart of theme was Go Big or Go Home. Man, the candidates were Tobias Honolulu encased the quad with

The week was prefaced with Big Bleisch, Andrew Jerrom, Nic Le, tiki-themed stands, a grandiose paperScott Mercer, and Matthew Duell.

Man and Big Woman nominations sent mache palm tree, and grass skirts gaout the previous week. Big Man and As for Big Woman, the candidates lore. The female and male candidates Big Woman on Campus are essentially were Amanda Cendejas, Brianna each shook it up in a hula dancing t h e face-off. Though the guys put up a Homevaliant fight, the girls ultimately took comthe win with their group hula dance. i n g

King We d n e s a n d day, Mar. Queen 21 was nomiBig Green nees of Tr a c t o r Spring Day, a Fl i n g ; spirit day there dedicated are five to wearing senior cowboy class “It was a surprise when boots and candiI found out I got nomi10-gallon dates nated,” explained Merhats. In a nomicer. “It was fun, though rather offnated it was a lot of work to beat disof both get dressed up every play, the gensingle day. It was good Big Man ders, to be with a different and Big and the Big man candidates Tobias Bleisch and Matt Duell getting Brian Wilson photos by Jinny Jung group of people than Wo m a n nomineesfrosting beards on Big League Day. who I usually hang out with.” Big Woman candidates competing in a hula contest on Big Kahuna Day. candidates participate

On Monday, Mar. were sepain a series of games and quad events re- Houston, Jennifer Lewis, Miranda 19, the week was kicked off with the Wilson beard made of chocolate frost- rated into pairs. continued onto pg. 2 Blanks, and Catherine Stevenson.

Big woman candidate Jennifer Lewis

news Spring Fling, cont.

page 02

udders made of rubber gloves that were spirit day. on Friday with Big Ego Day, a day full of milk, and the girls had to “milk” “It was very well organized,” said simply meant for decking oneself out the udders. in class colors. Unlike the other

Next, events, the last event of the week each individwas held in the gymnasium. The ual nominee step and dance club presented a had to play hip-hop routine to kick things off, chubby bunny, followed by a slide show displaya food chaling photos of each of the nomilenge where nees set to songs selected by the the participant nominees themselves. Afterward, stuffs marshan intense game where individual mallows one groups of guys and gals tried to by one in their get each other out by hurling the mouth and other players towards a trash can, try to say the all while clinging desperately to phrase “chubsmall ropes. by bunny”.

Following the game, the For the sake of candidates lined up, each armed the Southern with a confetti cannon; whichevtheme, each er two had a cannon that actually photo by Jinny Jung candidate had had confetti shoot out of it were to make a giv- Big Man candidates playing a game during the Big Ego rally on Big Man and en farm ani- Friday, Mar. 23.

Big Woman. mal noise with As the shots marshmallows fired, Amanda in their mouths. With a whopping Cendejas and total of ten marshmallows, Scott Nic Le found Mercer won the chubby bunny conthat their cantest. nons were the

There was a table giving out only ones to free assortments of cheese, such as explode with goat cheese, and small chocolate a flurry of eggs labeled “chocolate chicken rainbow coneggs”. fetti. The two

On the final spirit day, stucheered, and dents donned their thickest retro took celebralenses and suspenders for Big Bang tory photos.

Theory day. The hosts of the lunch As Big time activity lined up the Big Man Man and and Big Woman candidates for a Big Woman, photo by Mikayla Druhan “Pi” eating contest.

Cendejas and Students dressed up in Hawaiian garb for Big Kahuna Day.

In general, the week’s activiLe were reties were well-received by the student freshman Thea Rodine. “I’m impressed quired to attend the Sadie’s dance on body. Per usual, leadership students leadership can pull off such a cool Mar. 23. had slushies and popcorn available event.” to those dressed appropriately for the The festivities were wrapped up -Kylie Brown, Editor-in- Chief

3.29.12

10-year-old girl dies in fist fight over a boy Elementary school girl dies in fight with fellow classmate over a mutual love interest Emily Ransom Staff Writer

Two fifth grade girls, one boy, and two longing hearts, resulted in the death of 10-year-old Joanna Ramos.

Ramos, a fifth grade student at Willard Elementary School, and a classmate, were fighting over a boy after school on Feb. 24.

“The two girls met in a nearby alley next to a church and began hitting each other,” said Long Beach Police spokesman Sgt. Rico Fernandez to CNN. Both young girls walked away, seemingly unharmed.

Ramos arrived to her after school program at 2:30 p.m., and expressed that she wasn’t feeling well. A call was sent home and her cousin came to pick her up. She vomited, complained of a headache, and told her mother that she was tired and wanted to sleep.

After she passed out on the couch, her mother saw her lips turn purple and attempted to perform CPR on her. They immediately rushed Ra-

mos to the hospital.

The unconscious Joanna Ramos was revived three times before going into surgery for the blood clot found in her brain. She survived the surgery, but a few minutes later, the doctor told her family that her heart had stopped and there was nothing else they could do about it. She was pronounced dead shortly before 9 p.m. that night.

The coroner said Ramos died of blunt force trauma to the head and labeled the cause of death to be a homicide.

The Washington Post claims that “punches to the head can often lead to delayed bleeding if a vein is torn, and that can lead to a clot when blood collects on the surface of the brain.”

Ramos showed no signs of injury for an hour before she asked for the staff to call home.

Police say that the fight did not involve weapons and only lasted approximately one minute. A homicide investigation is now taking place, with the student whom Ramos fought.

news

3.29.12

page 03

Scrambling for a schedule change

Leigh to introduce possible schedule adjustments for 2012 - 2013

In the early morning, the library here at Leigh is packed full of students each determined to accomplish their goal. Whether it be sleeping quietly in a corner, or scrambling to finish that homework that they forgot was due, all in all tutorial is a valuable asset.

But what if tutorial was relocated to the middle of the day? Because of comparatively low instructional minutes here at Leigh, the district would like our bell schedule to be more akin to Del Mar, Branham and Prospect

than having tutorial in the morning from 7:50-8:20, it might be added after second period. Another option would be to schedule tutorial directly after first period.

If tutorial is moved to the middle of the day, students could be assigned to certain classes, or might be allowed to go to any of their classes.

In a poll of Leigh students, the majority of students preferred the option to pick which class to attend.

“Often times I will go to more than one tutorial in the morning to ask questions to different teachers, and if we have to be in one classroom it... will be a waste of time to most students

High School.

As of now Del Mar begins at 8:00 a.m. and is let out at 2:25 p.m, while Branham begins at 8:00 a.m. and is let out at 2:30 p.m. The way that Branham and Del Mar are able to elongate their school days by almost an hour is by embedding their tutorial (called “plus period” at Del Mar) into the middle of the school day.

If Leigh staff decides to move tutorial, there are several options. Rather

who don’t use tutorial,” said junior Jessie Erickson.

In addition to tutorial changes, almost every solution that has been proposed includes Wednesday being a collaboration day. Unlike our current collaboration days, instead of starting school later we would be getting out earlier. For example, school could let out at 1:15 p.m. and teachers would collaborate from 1:25 to 2:30.

“At Branham, and Del Mar, and

Caitlyn Nurnberg Opinion Editor

visual by Mikayla Druhan

Prospect, where they are doing something like this, generally the feedback has been positive from teachers and students. I’m hoping that here if we end up changing the schedule...we can figure out a schedule that works for us,” said Leigh teacher Meredith Moseley.

Companies getting too personal is pregnant or not”.

Political satirist and comedian Stephen Colbert a

On Feb. 23, it was reported by did segment many sites that target “predicted’ one of its many customers was pregnant a b o u t because the store sent advertisements t h i s subject related to pregnancy.

How, you may ask? Target ob- on his served the woman’s behavior, such as Wedneswhat she bought, how much of that d a y product, and her eating habits. Al- n i g h t V though this may have not been rele- T s h o w , vant information, the woman was very “ T h e Target is the main culprit. upset at the accusations. The father of the teenage daughter demanded why Colbert Target would send such advertisements Report”.

After his segment, Colbert stated to his daughter. Some of those coupons t h a t and emails “ Ta r were directed g e t towards new knows mothers. what

Patrick, you’re a store mand o ager at Target ing in who preferred bed.” to not have

his last name Target publicized, m a y stated that n o t he is “not be the sure if that is only entirely accu- Companies are accused of ignoring the privacy of r etail rate because we others. business that’s getting a little too perdon’t store any personal information, we have no way of knowing if someone sonal.

Luke Weinberg Junior Editor

On Feb. 29, the Worldwide Swedish Corporation Ikea paid the police for illegal files on the staff members.

T h i s event occurred somewhere in France, and the police Photos by Mikayla Druhan agreed to the terms on one condition: Ikea must pay 80 euros to the officials in order to access the database. The store managers were looking for information on their staff members, about their vehicle registration, and deciding whether or not to fire their members.

Ikea knows all information about their staff members and then you have Target that most likely knows where you live.

Target and all other corporations will need to be careful so as not to come across as “stalking” their customers and loyal representatives.

Proponents of moving tutorial to the middle of the day argue that more students will be able to take advantage of the time. However, some students say that it will have to be organized well to be effective.

“I do not think it is a good sys-

tem. It’s too chaotic. The worst part is that people take advantage by going to teachers that are really chill and hang out in their classroom”, said Su Han Kim, senior at Del Mar High School

Leigh faculty is expected to decide on a new schedule for next year.

page 04

Without Consent

It Goes On

If you were a Dartmouth eagle or Union tiger at one point, then you probably remember the infamous Spirit Game.

I definitely do. I recall getting dressed up in my school colors and painting my face and sitting in the bleachers with my friends and cheering on the basketball team as enthusiastically as if it were a live NBA game.

It was about the event in middle school. It was a gathering of community, a shared pride in one’s school, unification amongst students.

It got us all together to do something simple and just flat-out fun.

I know for most of us, this was ages ago. And I’m sure you fail to see how that has any relevance to high school students now.

Well the reason why I mention it is because the other day I was here at Leigh getting make-up and costume on to perform “Fiddler on the Roof ” while Leigh became flooded with middle school students decked in red and green for the Spirit Game.

At first, my cast members and I laughed as we jokingly yelled “Go Dartmouth!” and “Go Union!” at the random kids passing by. A few of us walked around the gym and peeked into the game the best we could and even said hi to some of the middle schoolers.

And while the middle schoolers were mostly dressed very spiritedly, I observed something kind of unsettling.

I am about to go on a mom rant, just to be forewarned, and I apologize in advance.

But honestly, I just have to say that a lot of the middle school girls I saw at the Spirit Game didn’t adhere to any degree of modesty.

This is not to say that tank tops or any form of shorts is completely unacceptable, but seriously, some of these girls were just plain ridiculous. They were in short shorts with ripped Tshirts (some without undershirts) and knee length socks. Instead of wearing school colors on their faces, they caked on heavy make-up. And their hair was perfectly done, either stick straight or graciously curled.

They were all barely 13.

And it was pouring rain outside.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the large contrast between our outfits.

Here I was in this 1905 Russian peasant girl outfit that consisted of an ankle length skirt, tights underneath, a tank top, and a floral long sleeved blouse and a babushka on my head.

And then there were these middle schoolers hardly wearing anything.

With our age gap, it should be the other way around supposedly, right?

Yes, I know it’s now 2012 and the way I was dressed for Fiddler is now considered extremely conservative by today’s standards. I am not expecting my outrage against the immodestly at such a young age to suddenly evoke girls to lengthen their shorts and wear

long-sleeves. Because come on, that’s just not realistic.

To be honest, it’s not even so much I am infuriated about them baring so much skin or pasting on makeup.

I am far more concerned about the influences that have caused these girls at such a young age to become so absorbed in their appearance.

We as a society are not naïve about the power the media holds over girls when it comes to their appearance.

We know consciously that the media has set an unrealistic and almost unachievable standard of how our bodies and faces should look. Young women get stuck in the grips of beauty portrayed by the media, and it leads them to drastic measures in order to be accepted—in order to be “beautiful”.

They’re told they’re not thin enough, so they stop eating.

They’re told their nose is shaped weird, so they get plastic surgery.

They’re told in order to get a guy to find you attractive, you have to dress in tighter clothes or even fewer clothes if possible.

But even when girls “fix” these “flaws” they possess, they are still left with a lack of self-esteem, just waiting around for the next thing they need to improve.

It’s an endless cycle where no one wins.

You stop eating and you lose weight, but now you’re too thin.

You get a nose job, but now everyone knows it’s fake and you’re criticized for resorting to surgery.

You wear tighter clothes, and you’re chastised for being “skanky”.

So what can you do now?

If you can’t change society, then stand up to it.

Easier said than done, I know. I mean, society’s pretty big as a whole.

But it’s not impossible.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

And that means no one. Not even society can make you feel like you are less than you are. If you were put on this earth, then you have a purpose, without question. And your purpose— who you are—is not devalued by a pant size or how big your nose is.

For many years, I have struggled with how I perceive myself.

Growing up, I always laughed at the girls who counted calories and wore brand clothes (although I practically lived in Children’s Place clothes that my mom bought me).

I would just say to them “Just eat!” or “I’m going to wear boy shorts because I like them,” because I was young and I didn’t care what anyone thought.

Once I got to high school though, this mind set changed drastically.

I got caught up with the rest of the girls in society. I became one of those girls who counted my calories and spent hours trying to pick the right outfit to wear.

Now, I’ve decided that my body may never be “perfect”, but the one thing I can dictate is my confidence and self-esteem.

And guess what? I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life.

And I can’t accredit my self-content with what clothes I wear or what size I am. That comes from within.

So middle schoolers, cover up and take off the make-up, not because getting dressed up once in a while is completely out of the question, but because you have a lot more to offer than your body.

Stay young. Seriously, you’ve got four more years to do that whole growing up thing.

features

3.29.12

Getting to know NEDAwarness Jinny Jung Staff Writer

binge-eating disorder in that the former is characterized by frequent episodes of binging, or consuming large amounts of food, in a short period of time. Afterwards, the bulimic will compensate for the binge episode by purging. Such methods of purging include laxative abuse, fasting, excessive exercise, and forced vomiting.

Those with binge-eating disorder, on the other hand, do have binge episodes, but they are not followed by

“Everybody Knows Somebody” – your best friend, the quiet girl in your class, the boy walking down the hallways. What do they all share in common? An eating disorder.

From Feb. 26 to Mar. 3, the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) held its annual NEDAwareness Week.

The theme this year was “Everybody Knows Somebody”, as eating disorders have gained both prevalence and public awareness.

The aim of NEDAwareness Week is to promote healthy body image in society as well as to prevent eating disorders. It also aims to reduce the stigma surrounding those with eating disorders and to open up more channels for potential treatment.

When asked what some common misconceptions about eating disorders were, an anonymous junior who has suffered from an eating disorder said, “Lots of people believe that those with eating disorders are people who are Teenage girls are pressured to look a certain way. underweight or basically ‘skin and bones’. That’s not purging. As a result, people with bingetrue.... People also believe that people eating disorder are often overweight with eating disorders can just suddenly and are at higher risk for cardiovascular start eating and they’re ‘cured’. Eating diseases and high blood pressure. disorders have very little to do with the As those with eating disorders body. It’s about control.” have essentially ravaged their bodies

The three most common types of from constant starvation and bingeeating disorders are anorexia nervosa, purge cycles, it is extremely difficult bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. for them to fully recover, if at all. Eat Anorexia nervosa is characterized ing disorders are among the deadliest by extremely restricted portions, an ab- mental disorders, with 1 in every 10 normal fear of gaining weight, a highly victims succumbing to death as a result distorted body image that triggers of cardiac arrest, starvation, or suicide. them to lose more and more weight, In females between the ages of 15 and and over time, can lead to osteopo- 24, anorexia has a death rate 12 times rosis (brittle bones), dry skin, lanugo higher than that of any other mental (growth of fine hairs all over the body), disease. and muscle wasting.

Treatment is a lengthy process

Bulimia nervosa differs from which first begins with help being in-

troduced. Next, a specialist is found in order to begin a treatment plan. A full medical evaluation follows this, as health problems must be addressed as urgently as possible. A long-term treatment plan is then drawn up, and such plans may include inpatient treatment (in which the person stays in a hospital), therapy, nutritional counseling, and medical monitoring.

For anorexics that receive treatment, 40 percent recover completely, 40 percent recover partially, and 20 percent suffer with physical and emotional problems for the rest of their lives.

For bulimics, 50 percent recover completely, 35 percent struggle to recover, and 15 percent relapse in their disordered eating.

W h y are eating disorders so hard to recover from?

An anonymous junior who is in recovery gives her take on the question: “[Eating disorders] affect your Photo by Nikita Zakladnyi entire body and physical health as well. You have to not only escape this little voice in your head telling you that you’re fat, but also get yourself back to proper health.

When you start to feed yourself again, it makes you feel sick to your stomach because you’re not used to eating so much. You also have to convince yourself that you deserve to get better. It’s an exhausting battle.”

If you know someone who suffers from an eating disorder, do not criticize the person or tell him or her to “just eat”. Rather, be understanding, and firmly tell them that they need help. You can find help at the NEDA website (nationaleatingdisorders.org) or by calling their hotline at (800) 9312237.

Art club is going green

Art club participates in an environmental movement Matthew Duell Staff Writer

be open to the whole community.

“Not only will we be showcasing art work made from recycled materials, but we will also be handing out infor-

3-D Design teacher Samantha Cush has broken the conventional and customary duties of an ordinary high school teacher by reaching out to her studen=ts and establishing her very own unique art club, which is open to all students at Leigh on Tuesdays after school.

In addition to collaborating and constructing beautiful art work, this year the Art Club has decided to break free Photo by Nikita from the comfortable realms Recycle sign formed by recylced glass. of their paintbrushes, sketches, and designs to step out and make a positive change in the com- mational pamphlets with statistics that munity by contributing to the en- inform students of environmental isvironmental awareness movement. sues,” said the president of Art Club, To achieve spreading environmen- Paulina Luckiewicz, about the event. tal awareness, the Art Club has decided Students are able to concoct whatto collaborate with the Environmental ever they wish for the show, but are enAwareness Club and hold an art show couraged to use reusable materials such on Mar. 30 in the cafeteria, which will as aluminum to create a stronger mes-

sage about the importance of recycling and reusing to promote the environment. The first place contestant will receive a $50 Visa gift card, second place will receive a $25 Visa gift card, and third place will receive a $10 Visa gift card.

“I hope the art show is not just an ordinary art show, but more of a movement to change people’s perception of how important things such as turning off the water or recycling are for the environment,” said Cush, about her expectations for the event.

Zakladnyi Students and the community around Leigh are encouraged to attend this event that the Environmental Awareness Club and the Art Club has worked so arduously to put on.

“People need to come to this event to help develop an informed sense of the simple things that we can be doing to help save the environment,” said Cush.

features

3.29.12

page 05

The building blocks of a career Tenacious texting gone Leigh and Branham to add classes for prospective engineers for a real career.

Three years of this course will be as follows: Introduction to Engineering Design (9th grade), Principles of Engineering (10th grade), and Capstone: Engineering Design and Development

onometry, etc., should stay embedded in an future engineer’s mind for years while working toward their major in

Don’t you just love dissecting college, depending on the type of engiequations, calculating answers, and neering they are majoring in. But this memorizing mathematical and sciennew engineering class is not all about tific laws? But the heavy how much of context what a stuof math dent learns and scifrom science ence. and math T h e classes can power actually help point prethem in the sentation real world? given at

F e a r the meetnot, left-brain ing at lovers! Leigh Branham High School H i g h will launch School’s an engineerPerforming course ing Arts called EngiCenter neer Pathway, on March or Project 9 showed Lead The Way that the (PLTW), in course fall 2012. will cover Freshmen communext year can nication, choose this inteamnovative and work, career-orient3-D deed option as signs with an elective. c o m Visual by Nikita Zakladnyi

“The ob- The Engineering program’s order of steps for 9th-12th grade. p u t e r jective is to pull out physics that apply (12th grade). The third year course is software, and the overall language of to real life situations like how to build still to be determined. engineering. an iPod [or] how to launch a space- “I wouldn’t take it because my The presentation also cited State ship,” said Cornelia Barrow, who has schedule is already swarmed. But mod- Superintendent Tom Torlakson’s protaught physics for six years at Leigh. el design and such programs do sound posal that “the ongoing budget crisis,

The elective would supply extra interesting,” said sophomore Matt Feh- and an 18 percent dropout rate, means background to students about math renbach. we have to take action to help our stuand science, which are always impor- Barrow defined engineering as a dents and our state’s economy.” tant skills for engineering jobs. It will study of “the purposeful use of science” Perhaps Leigh has achieved a also be categorized as a College Prep while overall science looks at “nature.” way of advancing future engineers Elective, giving students important The subjects of chemistry, physics, biol- into successful careers with priceless credits for graduation and preparation ogy, geometry, calculus, statistics, trig- education and useful preparation.

Heyinn Rho Staff Writer

Teachers take to the stage Bethune and White perform in school musicals ing lines and getting into character as were expected of anyone in the show.

“I guess the real difference is that even though the students are nice and helpful, I am more of an observer there,” said Bethune.

Bethune is appreciative of his participation in the production, and enjoyed

the high school experience,” said White.

White has also experienced the pain of memorizing lines, along

Mr. Bethune is in the school with Bethune. He admits that it was play? How did this happen? As it hard memorizing lines, “even though turns out, he’s not the only teacher I did not have many. Singing on to be in a production here at Leigh. key with everyone else was a chal Both math teachlenge as well,” said White. er Ben Bethune and

The students English teacher Mike performing in the show White have participated have also had fun performin Leigh productions ing with their teachers. while teaching here.

“The best thing Bethune played a was seeing the student’s Russian constable in this reactions. They really year’s performance of “Fidenjoyed seeing me on dler on the Roof ” after the an equal level, as part of director, Elizabeth Neipp, the team in the dramatic emailed him and asked if production,” said White he would like to be in the

If anyone wants play. Neipp was also the to play a part in a producdirector at Leigh when tion, they should realize Bethune was a student. the time commitment and “It is always fun trybe prepared. White exing new things and they plained how he had to go are a cool bunch of kids. to practice four days a week Photo by Nikita Zakladnyi It is fun watching them from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. interact in such a tight- Math teacher Ben Bethune performing in “Fiddler On The

“Either put knit group,” said Bethune. Roof”. in all your energy or do not par Most students would not expect interacting with the performers. Being ticipate at all,” said White. a teacher to be in the play, but Bethune in the play proved to be difficult for Time was not the only comwas determined to get his role done right. Bethune, but rewarding nonetheless. mitment White made. He also had “It is a real treat and privi- to grow out his beard for the part “Acting is very difficult, well for me. I’m playing someone with lege to see how talented the dra- and paint it white. White laughed, a Russian accent which I am not re- ma students are,” said Bethune. “I would not need to paint it now.” ally able to do. I might watch some As a previous actor in “Fid- Participating in the play alof those YouTube videos to try to dler on the Roof,” White partici- lowed White and Bethune to be part learn how to do one,” said Bethune. pated in 1997 and played the role of a new experience, which most The experience of a teacher of a rabbi. He was asked to perform teachers have not been a part of. in a play would be assumed differ- by the musical director Stan Neff. “It really shows that there are ent from a student’s, however Bet- “It gave a chance to see how much other ways students can be successful hune says that it is not. He had the time students put into extracurricular in school, besides getting good grades,” same responsibilities with memoriz- activities, which are really important for said White.

Julie Thompson Staff Writer

terribly wrong

On Mar. 15, a girl from Rogers, Arkansas thought it would be funny to text a random phone number saying that she had “hid a body,” but the joke, unfortunately, blew up right in her face. ( Of course the joke went wrong, why else would I be writing about an incident from the monotonous and boring state of Arkansas? I’ll tell you what, if you can give me three fun things to do while in Arkansas I will ride mechanical horses all day at the Oakridge mall with coins fished out from the reflecting pond at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.)

Anyway, out of all the local phone numbers that the girl could have chosen to send this completely moronic text message to, of course, it was sent to a phone that belonged to a police detective.

“Not knowing if the text was a prank or a legitimate text, the detective began an investigation into the source of the message,” said Rogers from the Ark. Police Department. to NBC.

The Police quickly found the girl’s address by tracing her cell phone number, but the prank was far from funny when dA P0LiCe RoLleD Up Ya FeEl?

The authorities took the girl, whose name has not been released yet, into custody for two days and tortured her by making her try pants on backwards at the Gap, and forced her to ask the salesperson if they made her butt look big (just kidding). Actually, they released the girl soon after questioning her, realizing that it was an innocent prank gone terribly wrong.

The girl got the idea for the prank from a posting on the website Pinterest. The text read: “When I’m bored, I send a text to a random number saying “I hid the body… now what?” (See guys? Pinterest isn’t all about fashion and girly stuff, it is also hella hardcore and fun, add me: mattypants ;).)

Of the 500,000 numbers that use the 479 code, she just happened to send her prank text to a police detective (L0L. Hella bad luck!!).

I would like to take this golden opportunity to thank MTV, this award for “Best Male video,” my parents, and God, AND Jesus. (Actually I would just like to thank God for Justin Bieber for that reference).

Actually, I was about to bestow upon you guys a couple pieces of genuine advice before I take my leave from Leigh High, as well as this column.

Firstly, if you DO decide to do stupid/crazy/semi-illegal/illegal things throughout your high school career or in life in general, like, for example, drawing cartoon faces with a sharpie on all of the fresh produce at Safeway or Whole Foods, DON’T GET CAUGHT.

We as young adults and teenagers just can’t help doing unintelligent things like this, because, in my opinion, we need to experiment with limits in order to live within them, which is why we are so inclined to do moronic things like texting “I hid the body… now what?” to a random number, or saying, “Aren’t you the guy from the Village People?” to a police officer after he pulls you over for going 70 mph by a strip mall of retirement homes, schools, and residential areas where the speed limit is 15.

I think that (or I’m probably just saying this because I do a lot of stupid things, and enjoy doing them) experimenting with foolish things is a sign of maturity.

Furthermore, with the capacity to understand how dangerous the

Mind over Matt-er world really is by experimenting as a teenager, we are able to become more self-reliant and are, in my opinion, more likely to be able to live an independent world away from our childhood homes and begin a new life in a Cole World (a real Cole World, them boys cool, me I’m on fire, know what’s on my mind, tryna see what’s on yours tonight…tonight).

So, there you have it folks, next time you are debating whether you should start your own guinea pig farm or use the money for college, just know that whatever your decision is, it will make you a better, more sophisticated, experienced, and cultivated person and will promote the human race in the long run.

Seriously though, just don’t get caught with stupid stuff and you can ignore all of the BS that I just stated in the previous paragraph.

My second gem of advice, especially to the underclassmen, is to keep all things in moderation throughout your high school career, especially when you are getting crunk/hyphy with your friends.

Simply stating it, focus on your school work and extracurricular activities, and allot only a specific amount of space in your calendar for time with friends.

Be a well-rounded individual, and devote time to all areas of your life whether that be spending time with your girlfriend/boyfriend, sitting down for a nice family meal (even if you hate doing it), or finishing a history project that has been looming over your conscience for weeks on end rather than going to steady mob around Eastridge with your homies to get frozen yogurt and shop for the latest Nike Air Forces.

The moderation rule is universal, and is applicable especially with academic classes as well. Don’t try and take too many AP/Honors classes unless you know you can handle the load; you will only burn out early in the year and become a miserable and exhausted walking zombie at school.

Colleges love to see consistency throughout your high school grades. If taking regular courses allows you to be consistent and stay mentally sane, then save yourself some heartache, and forget the AP classes, it’s just not worth it sometimes!

As for those who are intelligent, I am not, and, therefore, cannot speak for your demographic.

In conclusion, play to your strengths, enjoy life by taking time away from the textbooks (by doing crazy/ trill/hood rat/hyphy stuff WITHOUT GETTING CAUGHT), and manage your time wisely so that you can make room for the things that you love to do in your life while still taking care of the things that you NEED to do!

features

page 06 Editors-in-Chief Marissa Rodriguez, Kylie Brown Section Editors News: Brianna Houston Opinion: Caitlyn Nurnberg Features: Amanda Cendejas Sports: Zachary Tatar Entertainment: BlaykeLeach In-Depth/Politics: Nanxi Tang Backpage: Luke Weinberg Visuals Editor Sadie Williams Online Editor Michael Rea Business Managers Christopher Wyman, Nathan Keenan, Jeannie Ceglar Copy Editor Nicole Hamilton Staff Writers Rajashree Bhattacharya, Kylie Brown, Jeannie Ceglar, Amanda Cendejas, Mikayla Druhan, Matthew Duell, Nicollette Eilia, Michelle Fitzsimmons, Tiffany Ha, Nicole Hamilton, Sean Hiller, Brianna Houston, Katrina Jabbari, Jinny Jung, Nathan Keenan, Blayke Leach, Katherine MacQuarrie, Alassandra Marquez, Sarah Mowad, Caitlyn Nurnberg, Kayla Pavlicevich, Emily Ransom, Michael Rea, Heyinn Rho, Marissa Rodriguez, Anna Schwarz, Adam Soret, Chloe Tamaro, Nanxi Tang, Zachary Tatar, Julie Thompson, Sunna Thorkelsdottir, Andrew van Brunt, Joseph Vasquez, Thomas Viola, Makena Volzing, Luke Weinberg, Sadie Williams, Angel Wilson, Kendra Wood, Christopher Wyman, Nikita Zakladnyi Design Staff Kylie Brown, Nicollette Eilia, Michelle Fitzsimmons, Tiffany Ha, Sean Hiller, Katrina Jabbari, Katherine MacQuarrie, Alassandra Marquez, Sarah Mowad, Kayla Pavlicevich, Emily Ransom, Heyinn Rho, Marissa Rodriguez, Adam Soret, Chloe Tamaro, Julie Thompson, Sunna Thorkelsdottir, Andrew van Brunt, Joseph Vasquez, Makena Volzing, Luke Weinberg, Angel Wilson Visuals Staff Sadie Williams, Rajashree Bhattacharya, Mikayla Druhan, Jinny Jung, Anna Schwarz, Kendra Wood, Nikita Zakladnyi Online Staff Michael Rea, Matthew Duell, Thomas Viola Adviser Elizabeth Nakamura The Eleight is an independent publication of the Journalism class at Leigh High School. Its content reflects the opinion of the Writing Staff and does not necessarily reflect the views of Leigh High School, its Board of Trustees, faculty, administration or student body.

If you feel that The Eleight improperly or insufficiently represents any part of the Leigh High community, or have any other questions, suggestions or comments, please email Leigh’s Journalism class via the_eleight@yahoo.com.

The Eleight is an independent publication dedicated to honest, ethical, accurate and complete coverage of the Leigh High student body and its surrounding community.

Dear Readers, Given the torrential downpours we have been experiencing lately, we sincerely hope that this copy of the Eleight hasn’t been completely decimated by water damage. No? Excellent.

Whether you like to stomp in puddles, recreate the famous scene from “The Notebook”, or cuddle up next to the warmth of a fireplace with a copy of The Eleight (or “The Hunger Games”, for the trendy-folk out there), we hope you enjoy our March edition.

We advise you to keep your chin up and not be put down by those rainy day blues. You know what they say, April showers bring May flowers... except in the case of California, apparently.

We wish you a smashing day, and we look forward to greeting you through a box in a lost corner of a high school newspaper in April.

Your Editors-in-Chief, Kylie Brown and Marissa Rodriguez

3.29.12

LeftBrainDead

Senior Sam Bauman hand paints his own clothing line

For those of you who don’t know me, math is not exactly my forte.

TE: What have been others’ reactions towards finding out that

When asked where they work, you have your own T-shirt line? many students at Leigh will respond, SB: People seem to be surprised when in a drab tone, that they work at some I tell them I fast-food chain, or have my a clothes outlet, own t-shirt or some other job line. It’s a that’s typical of a great comhigh school stupliment dent.

However, w h e n senior Sam Baupeople man gives a rather ask where unusual answer: he I got my runs his own store, shirt, and Left Brain Dead, at I get to tell an online boutique them that site called Etsy. His I made it. product? Custom Everyone painted clothes, has been each one unique and incredibly hand painted using supportstencil designs on Tive. [Seshirts or sweatshirts. nior] Eric The Eleight: So, Rudawski you run a clotheven calls ing line on Etsy, an himself online store where the CFO people can sell (Chief their homemade Financial wares. How did Officer) this come about? of my Sam Bauman: Well, company. it came about beIronically, cause I decided that he doesn’t I wanted to fuse get paid. together my love of TE: I unart and a way to acderstand tually make money. you’re The average teenage enrolled job is so depressing in AP – soul-crushing – Art here so I wanted to try at Leigh. something different.

Has the TE: How did you Photo courtesy of Sam Baumen w o r k find out about Etsy? Senior Emma Canepa models one of Sam’s custom sweatshirts you’ve SB: I found out about Etsy a few years ago when my SB: My main motivation is basically done for your AP portfolio influenced mom was selling some vintage army to prove to myself that there are ways your T-shirt work at all, or vice-versa? backpacks, but I never really gave it to make money as a teenager using SB: My AP Portfolio is actually very difmuch thought until a few months ago your creativity. This is what inspired ferent than anything I’ve designed for a when I decided to start LeftBrainDead. the name “LeftBrainDead.” (since t-shirt. However, the class itself gave TE: What is it that you sell? the left side of the brain is the more me the artistic confidence to follow SB: Hand painted t-shirts and sweat- logical and systematic hemisphere.) through with creating my little business. shirts. They aren’t screen-printed, so you can see the individual brush marks. Each shirt is a little bit different.

TE: Is it enjoyable work?

SB: I do enjoy doing it! I also like that it’s a learning experience, and it helps because I want to pursue a career in advertising.

TE: What’s been your biggest challenge?

SB: My biggest challenge is definitely getting exposure. People from all around the world use Etsy, so I’m always trying Nicole Hamilton Copy Editor

to get my shirts to stand out from the crowd. Although this makes it an even greater challenge, I love mailing shirts to places as far as Australia or the UK. TE: What’s been your main motivation so far?

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3.29.12

Big Man Big Woman on campus Leigh recognizes the most well-known and involved students in the Senior Class Nanxi Tang In-Depth Editor Michael Rea Online Editor

Big Man Big Woman are a pair from the senior class who are nominated into the Spring Fling Court and voted on based on their spirit and involvement in the school and their community.

The Eleight interviewed Nic Le and Amanda Cendejas, the two seniors who were crowned as the Big Man and Big Woman on campus this spring.

NL: My favorite part was dressing up everyday. The days weren’t too complicated to dress up for and we all looked pretty good everyday!

AC: My favorite part was winning with Nic, definitely. He’s one of my best friends, and being Big Man and Big Woman together literally made my year. Love ya, big man!

TE: What was going through your head when the confetti shot out?

NL: It was a really surreal moment for both of us I’m sure. Personally, I couldn’t really believe it. The confetti cannons were definitely a plus.

AC: I didn’t want to seem too excited,

AC: I’m going to University of the Pacific and majoring in business, with concentration in marketing.

TE: What did you think of the week as a whole?

NL: The week was awesome! The decorations looked really good everyday and dressing up is always fun.

AC: The week was great. I thought the

The Court pops confetti canons to reveal the winners.

The Eleight: What does it mean to you to be named Big Man/Woman on campus?

Nic Le: It definitely means a lot to win. But winning isn’t everything. The whole week was really nicely put together.

Amanda Cendejas: It means a lot.

It’s really nice to know that people see what you do, that it doesn’t go unnoticed. It definitely made the stress well worth the award!

TE: The people you voted for last year; how did you see them compared to how you see yourself now, in their places?

NL: Yeah…who was in it last year ‘Manda?

AC: I don’t remember, Nic, but we better be more memorable. Forreal doe.

TE: What was your favorite part about this week?

so I said “Awh, yay!” But I was really, really happy. Then I felt bad because I knew leadership would have to clean up the confetti!

TE: Is this honor important to you?

Why? NL: Winning this is a huge honor. I mean, it’s the public vote so it’s nice to know people actually voted for me.

It’s humbling knowing I got the most votes.

AC: The honor is definitely important to me. Like I said, it makes all the stress worth it. It really is “humbling” to know that people voted for me, because I remember putting a lot of thought into the people I used to vote for, and I really looked up to them.

TE: What are your plans after high school?

NL: My plans are to go to Cal Poly SLO next year and major in architecture.

lunchtime activities definitely improved over last year’s, but I wish more people would have dressed up. When I come back next year, you guys better be decked out.

TE: What has been your favorite memory from high school?

NL: Best memory?

That’s easy. Beating Photos by Jinny Jung Amanda Cendejas and Nic Le share a hug as Big Man and Big Woman.

Branham for their homecoming and having the students NL: I always loved both weeks. But TE: What advice would you give to Homecoming always had a special other high school students about how in the stands almost rush the field.

AC: Stampeding Branham! I’ve never place in my heart being a football play- to spend their time at Leigh?

NL: Balance your time wisely. Keep up seen our school have so much spirit. er and everything.

AC: Homecoming 2010. The theme with your schoolwork, but also spend Horns up! was “Seven Deadleigh Sins” and it was time having fun. It’ll keep you sane.

TE: What has been your favorite spirit my favorite year of leadership. I fell in AC: Go big or go home. Live it up, get week from your time at Leigh, and love with the class and knew it was go- involved, and do your best. It’ll all pay off in the end. ing to be a great year. why?

Spring out of bed for the spring ahead What you didn’t know about the practice of daylight savings Rajashree Bhattacharya Staff Writer

You wake up, get dressed, go to school, and realize, unfortunately, that you’ve arrived an hour too late.

Such is the effect of daylight savings.

Daylight savings is a policy of turning clocks forward and backward in time to capitalize on the longer, brighter days of summer by getting people to wake up earlier, as the sun rises. This has the added bonus for saving money during the summer months; the idea is for people get more sunshine, go outside, and avoid using electricity to light the home.

Daylight savings as we know it, against popular belief, was not invented by Ben Franklin. He had only mentioned a vague concept, but the modern version of daylight savings was conceived by a George Hudson in 1895. It was first implemented, however, in Germany in 1916 during the First World War.

The issue of whether countries should use Daylight Savings Time is

debatable; currently, most countries but is it really worth it? have opted out. The U.S. does, and In the modern world, Daylight operates under the colloquial phrase, Savings may not have the desired effect.

“Spring Forward, Fall Backward.”

Other countries in the southern hemisphere, with switched seasonal calendars, turn their clocks the opposite way.

Even within those countries that participate is dissent about the losses and gains from DST.

“I like it. It doesn’t bother me [when the clocks change]. I like gaining an hour outside when it Time flies when the clock flies forward an hour. gets brighter or sleep when darker,” said Alexa Wise, The inefficient use of tungsten light senior at Leigh High School. This is bulbs for which Daylight Savings is apexactly what the policy is in place for, plied is no longer fashionable. Lighting

a home is less energy-consuming now with the popular CFLs and LEDs.

Also, people use technology all the time now, day and night. Not everyone follows a regular day and night sleep schedule, keeping on computers and heaters all night long. Moving the clock wouldn’t necessarily make them use electricity any less.

There’s a great deal of confusion every year about the movement of the hour; people forget to do it, or forget which way to shift the hour. There have even been studies Photo by Jinny Jung that show how the shift in clocks reduce worker’s abilities to work on the standard day shift schedule and estimate a $480 million

loss in work productivity every year due to sleep deprivation.

“I hate it. I lose an hour of sleep,” said junior Rohit Bakshi.

Even within the U.S., two states do not follow DST. The first is Hawaii, which claims that the changes would make no difference in either electricity usage or outdoor activity, as Hawaii is primarily known for its tourism for outdoor recreation.

The second state is Arizona, which is a little more complicated. Because in Arizona the average summer high is around 107`F, the people there have no desire to wake up earlier and deal with more of the blistering heat.

But then, within Arizona is the Navajo Nation area which has decided to follow Daylight Savings. And within the Navajo Nation is a chunk of the Hopi Reservation which does not, like the rest of Arizona. And, amazingly, within that Hopi Reservation is another area belonging to the Navajo Nation, which follows the time-changing madness. All right, how is any of this realistic?

politics

page 08

The scoop on third parties Jeannie Ceglar Staff Writer

What does the future hold for the Reform Party, the Green Party and other “third parties” in the American system? Well, not so good. The declining success of the Reform Party is due, in large part, to the fact that both the Republicans and Democrats have taken up core issues, such as balancing the budget and reforming the Federal government, that were once championed by Ross Perot, The a businessman log o o who ran for ft p r e s i h dency i n

e

Li b

a ert

Par ty. rian

tem also serve to discourage the development of third parties.

When third parties emerged in American political history, their successes have been short-lived. In most cases, the issues or ideas championed by third parties have been “stolen” by the candidates of one of the two major parties. Sometimes, the issue position taken by the third party is even incorporated into the platform of one of the existing parties. By doing so, the existing party generm ally wins the support of the voters that had previously been the support base of the third party. With no unique issues to stand on and a decrease of voter support, third parties generally fade away. there is an incentive Notwithstanding their lack of to form smaller “third” parties. staying power, a handful of third party

Other features of the American presidential candidates have had a sigsystem of elections, such as campaign nificant impact on electoral outcomes. finance rules, the electoral college and Third parties have never made a sigrules giving party candidates ballot ac- nificant bid for control of the House of cess further strengthen the two-party Representatives or the Senate. In fact, system in the United States. The same only a handful of individuals from outcomponents of the American system side one of the two major parties have that have encouraged a two-party sys- served in the Congress.

ty.

Democrat or Republican party.

The American two-party system is the result of the way elections are structured in the United States. Representatives in the Congress and in state legislatures are elected to in singlemember districts, where the individual with the most votes wins. Because only one party’s candidate can win in each district, there is a strong motivation for political competitors to organize themselves into two competing “teams” or

parties.

By doing this, party members and their candidates can increase their chances of winning elections. In some countries where there are multi-member districts, (an electoral district from which two or more members are sent to the legislature), parties that win smaller percentages of the vote can often win legislative representation. Consequently, in such systems, The logo of th e Re for

r Pa

. rty Pa

Ameri c a n system is commonly called a “two-party system” because there have historically been only two major political parties that have candidates competing for offices (especially in federal elections). The first two political parties originated from the debate that stemmed over the ratification of the Constitution--the Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Anti-Federalists were state right advocates, poor farmers,

n

In many countries around the world, there are several political parties, but in the United States there are only two that are consistently competitive in elections. Why is this the case? And what are the prospects of a third party emerging, such as the Reform or Green Party, that is competitive with the Democratic and Republican Parties?

The

and debtors, the lower class of society.

The Federalists were the well-educated higher class in society.

Today, the Republican and Democratic Parties dominate electoral politics. Almost every federal or state-level elected official in the United States belong to one of the two major parties. In fact, there is only one member of the United States Congress that is not a Republican or a Democrat: Rep. Bernie The log o of Sanders of Vermont is an th e Gr Independent. All the ee other members of congress fall under either the

3.29.12

1992.

T h e Reform Party, consequently, no longer holds an unique position on the issues that had attracted so many voters back in 1992.

If the Green Party manages to win a significant number of votes this coming November, historical precedent tells us the most likely outcome will be for one of the two major parties (almost certainly the Democratic Party) to adopt the Green party’s positions to win the support of Green Party voters.

Nomination Domination

Nicollette Eilia Staff Writer

An overview of the four remaining candidates vying for the GOP nomination Newt Gingrich currently has 83 delegate votes in the race to becoming the Republican candidate for 2012.

Gingrich disagrees with the current economic policies set up by Obama, and desires system similar to that of the Bush administration. Gingrich wants to repeal the current health care plan and make major changes to Medicare in order to make health care more accessible. Gingrich is an anti-abortion candidate. He also believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman and that there should be an amendment to the constitution which defined marriage to be between a man and a woman.

Mitt Romney currently has 312 delegate votes thus far, putting him in the lead of all the Republican candidates. Romney’s view on how to rebuild the economy is to cut government spending in order to lower the country’s debt. If elected, Romney plans to repeal the current health care bill. “I believe we should have a federal amendment in the Constitution that defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman,” said Romney at a presidential debate in Iowa. Romney is Pro-life.

Rick Santorum currently has 137 delegate votes. “I feel we need someone who is a strong, principled conservative who believes not in government mandates, not in government control of the health care system, but in a patient-centered approach to health care,” said Santorum in terms of the health care system in the U.S. Like his opponent Gingrich, Santorum is also anti-abortion.

Like the other three politicians, Santorum also believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman and would like to make an amendment to the constitution.

Ron Paul currently has 60 delegate votes. In order to reduce the country’s debt, Paul wishes to remove the federal reserve as a whole. Paul also wants to repeal Obama’s current health care bill. Paul believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman but that the decision should not be that of the federal government but of the states. “I don’t want the federal government having a marriage police,” said Paul. Like Romney, Paul is also Pro-life but unlike Romney he wants issues of abortion to be made by state government.

page 09 politics Who represents the Golden State?

3.29.12

Getting to know the California law-makers and representatives Rajashree Bhattacharya Staff Writer

Jerry Brown: Born in San Franscisco on April 1938, Jerry Brown attended UC Berkeley to receive his B.A in Classics and subsequently entered Yale Law School.

In 1970, he Jerry Brown became California Secretary of State.

He was then governor for two consecutive terms from 1974-1982. In 1992, he ran for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

Having voiced disgust of the increased role of money in politics, he ran his campaign funded only on donations $100 and less. He managed to defeat Clinton in six states. In 1998, Brown won the title of mayor of Oakland and was Mike Honda reelected in 2002.

Brown is currently the governor of California, and as governor distinguishes himself from his opponent by claiming that he will “be an enthusiastic champion for the green sector and the jobs of the future”.

Mike Honda: Mike Honda was born in California in 1941. Honda earned B.A.s in Biological Sciences and Spanish. He also got a Masters in Education from San Jose State, and worked as a public school principal.

In 2000 Honda was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democratic representative of District 15, Santa Clara County, and “ focuses on directing funding towards affordable healthcare, educational programs, worker training.”

female Californian Senators (voted in the same year as Dianne Feinstein), Barbara Boxer has served on the Democratic Party.

She was born in 1940 in Brooklyn, and graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in Economics.

She moved to California and was elected as Representative to District 6 in 1982, for which she served five terms.

She was voted as a Senator in 1992.

She describes herself as, “ forceful advocate for families, children, consumers, the environment,” and has taken stances strongly pro-choice, for equality for gay couples, and for women equality.

Dianne Feinstein: Dianne Feinstein Barbara Boxer is one of the first

He, as female Californian Senators, and has an Japaneseserved on the Democratic party since American, has 1992. Feinstein was born in San Frantaken a stand scisco in 1933. She served as Mayor of for the equalSan Franscisco, from 1978 to 1988. ity for Asian

As a Senator, recent actions American include co-sponsoring PIPA and meetand Pacific ing with representatives of Google and Islander imFacebook to find ways to “ensure that migrants. the bill is balanced and protects the Another intellectual property concerns of the of his main content community”. focuses is education, and he has passed Her reputation is that of biparlegislation supportive of furthering tison, and as she has stated on her education in the sciences. Honda was website, works “with both Democrats married to Jeanne Honda, who passed and Republicans to find commonin 2004. sense solutions to the problems facing California and the Nation.”

Barbara Boxer: One of the first

Zoe Lofgren: Zoe Lofgren is on the House of Representatives as the congresswoman for District 16 of California. She was born in 1947 in San Mateo, California.

She earned a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford and graduated from the University of Santa Clara School of Law in 1975. She was elected as Representative in 1994 and as a congresswoman she has been noted for her opposition for the expansion of copyright law.

Of the shelving of SOPA and PIPA, Lofren said, “Now that the deeply flawed SOPA and PIPA have been taken off the table, there’s a new opportunity to address the problem of

1948 and grew up in a small town in Kansas.

He earned a degree in public affairs from Princeton as well as graduated from Stanford Law School.

In 2006 he was voted in as mayor of San Jose. His goals include “ improving the quality of life in the city, boosting the public’s trust in local government, and fixing the City’s structural budget deficit.”

To this end he has implemented Reed Zoe Lofgren Reforms,

Dianne Feinstein misappropriation of protected creative work in a better way”.

Lofgren is a Democrat, pro-choice, and has voted no on constitutionally labelling marriage as one-man, one-woman.

Chuck Reed: The 64th San Jose Mayor, whose is affiliated with the Democratic party, was born in August

Chuck Reed which requires openness from elected officials as well as increased civilian participation and Green

Vision 2007, which aimed to boost the economy and the environment. Green Vision boasts to have created 4000 new clean technology jobs in San Jose.

America and the Middle East:

A complicated relationship

Angel Wilson Staff Writer

America’s dependency on oil, as well, during his 2006 State of the Union address: “Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. And here we

which puts Saudi Arabia at a close second, supplying 1.614 million bbl/day.

Saudi Arabia sits upon 20 percent of the world’s reserves. The Mid-

Oil. It’s the main reason why a small section of the world wedged between Africa and Asia is crucial to the United States. Energy security and fossil fuel dependency have always been a big concern for the United States; such dependency has lead us to have complicated ties with the Middle East.

As our own oil has been slowly diminishing, America, as a whole, has grown increasingly dependent on foreign countries. In 1973, President Richard Nixon Since an unexpected drop in 2008, gas prices have been steadily rising said, “Our independence will depend on maintaining and achieving self-sufficiency in energy.” have a serious problem: America is ad- dle East adds up to about 71 percent of That year, the United States imported dicted to oil, which is often imported the world’s “liquid gold.” The United 34.8 percent of its oil from foreign from unstable parts of the world.”

States is the worlds largest consumer of countries.

By this time, foreign countries oil, using 18,690,000 bbl/day.

Our foreign oil imports only were providing over 59 percent of our This is why America faces such a grew from there: in 1979, when presi- oil. Our oil levels are only 2 percent of serious problem, and also one reason dent Jimmy Carter said our country the world’s known reserves, and our why there is a complicated relationwill “never again use more foreign oil own fields have been tapped out since ship between the United States and the then we did in 1977,” the United States their peak in 1971.

Middle East. oil consumption was up to 45 percent Surprisingly enough, Canada is “The small country of Finland of our nation’s national supply. Former our largest oil supplier, contributing exports more non-oil products than President George W. Bush admitted to 1.888 million bbl/day (barrels per day), the whole region of the Middle East.

The Middle East is already in such an impoverished state. If the United States becomes energy dependent, it will take away the Middle East’s only source of statistics courtesy

stability.

Imagine the Middle East becoming even more chaotic then it already is,” said Advanced Placement United States History teacher, Frank Von Rassler. Both America and the Middle East rely greatly on each other for economic support.

Needless to say, oil isn’t the only reason we are involved with the Middle East. The United States have supported protection over Israel and the containment of the Soviet Union; also the

United states was even the first country to recognize Israel in 1948.U.S history with the Middle East can go back as far as the defeat of the Ottomon Empire in WWI. The Middle of gasbuddy.com Eastern map was entirely redone around 1914-1936.

Western nations noticed a subsequent amount of oil while drawing out the borders. From then on, the U.S has made it a priority to remain in touch with the Middle East.

For many people, their political view on United States involvement with the Middle East is a touchy subject. Some people refuse the idea of interacting with the Middle East, while others are on the fence.

“I don’t believe that we should still be in the Middle East, but it was good that we were there,” said sophomore Richard Janicki.

Even with all the media coverage on the Middle East, six in ten people amongst the ages of 18-24 are unable to locate Iraq on the map, according to a poll in National Geographic.

Conservative columnist Charley Reese summed up America’s greatest problem with oil: “We...are not really free if we can’t control our own government and its policies. And we will never do that if we remain ignorant.”

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page 11

The word “clique” has a negative connotation. Cliques are often associated with nasty rumors and high school hierarchy. The dictionary definition of clique is “a narrow, exclusive group of persons; especially one held together by common interests, views, or purposes”. In reality, there is nothing bad about cliques. Cliques are nothing more than groups of like-minded people with similar interests. The concern is the clashing of the cliques; “nerds” versus “jocks”, “non-conformists” versus “preps”. But differing opinions, fashions, and lifestyles is exactly what is good about cliques; our differences are what make the world go round, and there is no shame in that.

The kinds of people one associates with do not necessarily define who they are, but it illuminates a characteristic that makes them an individual. The existence of “cliques”, or “groups held together by common interests, views, or purposes”, is beautiful in it’s own right; we would otherwise be lonely in the world if we did not have people with whom we share common ground.

-Kylie Brown, Editor-in-Chief

A cosplayer is one that shows an interest in Japanese animation, or anime. I am definitely an anime nerd, but more in the art form of creating the costumes, of bringing something on the screen to life and I am very proud of that label. I don’t think stereotypes should be used to judge a person’s worth, but it is also not good to be unaware of how stereotypes can give some insight into one’s personality and group of friends.

-Anonymous, 10

I spend most of my time in tutorial, the library, or at home studying. Nerds are academically advanced and studious. People think of glasses, suspenders, and pens when they hear the word “nerd.” Being intelligent is something to be proud of, and mocking me won’t make you better than me or anyone else.

-Anonymous , 10

opinion

page 12

3.29.12

Parenting 101: Why being The Dion in me balanced is always better

Just Jab

I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.

-Billy Joel

Music is universal and timeless. It has been around forever, it will be around forever, and no technology can change that. It’s something everyone has in common and it even brings people together.

We’ve all had that moment where we find someone who likes the same quaint, low-down artist as we do and immediately bond with them.

The true beauty of music however, lies in the simple fact that there is something out there for everyone.

There is something for every possible mood, every circumstance, and every person. Something we can relate to even in the toughest of situations.

Being able to relate to something is a beautiful thing, and it is something we all desire at one point or another.

That’s the magic of it all: it’s applicable. Girls- having boy problems lately? Taylor Swift is your girl. Pondering why life’s unfair cruelties are constantly out to get you? There’s a grungy 90s rock song for that. The sun is out, birds are singing, and you have a smile plastered onto your face? There’s a Pandora reggae station with nothing but good vibes just waiting for you to click on it.

The varieties are endless. I listen to classic rock, reggae, hard rock, alternative, particular hip hop artists, 80s pop, and so much more.

Most of my friends and I enjoy listening to the same type of music.

As crazy as it may sound, I kind of think that’s why we’re friends.

Music is like brain food- it effects how we think, who we are. Most of the time this happens subconsciously and we really aren’t aware of how it affects our brain and way of thinking.

Think about it. When you’re listening to a song with an upbeat rhythm, or a song you have particularly good memories with, you’re mood is instantly a little more cheery. When you play a song with bad memories tied to it, or something dark and eerie, you might feel sadder than you would have, had you decided on a different music choice.

In a way I think all of us rec-

ognize how it affects us though, considering how we have particular music choices for each daily occasion.

For example, when working out people tend to choose songs that are up-beat and powerful- something to motivate you. When doing homework one may want to choose something calming, so they can focus. Before bed, people tend to enjoy listening to calming sounds or whale noises. At a party, people enjoy listening to pop or hip hop to get them pumped for the night. Music choice in our lives changes with each scenario.

I’ve observed how consistent choices in music actually mold who people are in many cases.

It sounds drastic, but it’s true.

My cousin is 10. She listens to mainstream pop music, (Katy Perry. Ke$ha, Rihanna, etc) resulting in a sassy, energetic girly-girl.

A good friend of mine listens to primarily country. She’s fun-loving and witty. Another good friend of mine listens to underground hiphop (known to be liberal & typically more meaningful than mainstream) and reggae. She is intelligent, laidback, open-minded, and intellectual.

The music we listen to truly affects us more than we know. My point here is; be careful what you feed your brain! I think that newaged pop and rap music is complete and utter garbage. Then again, in the world of music, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. That’s the loveliness of it all. There’s something for everyone; everyone is different.

My personal favorite thing about music is that it makes even the most daunting of tasks bearable. Cleaning can easily be a great time if you’re blasting tunes throughout your crib and playing air-guitar all the while. Loads of homework? Not a problem. Start up your favorite play-list and maybe, just maybe it won’t be all that bad.

Not only is music enjoyable to listen to, it is even more enjoyable and incredibly fulfilling to make.

With determination, commitment, and confidence, anyone can do it.

Inside all of us there is a Celine Dion waiting to be revealed.

Okay, maybe not all of us… But we can at least hope so. Singing is fun!

Whether you’re good, bad, or horrible, it still allows us to have a creative, easy way of expressing ourselves and our emotions- things we can’t quite always express any other way.

Not all music needs words to be equally, and in many cases more beautiful, than instrumentals or music with no spoken words.

I saved up money for a while to buy an acoustic guitar, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’m definitely still learning to play, but these days everything is made so easy by technology. Thanks to a few YouTube tutorials, (I have no shame!) I know a few songs on guitar.

The fingertips on my left hand have this weird numbing sensation and are quite chapped now from holding down the chords. The frustration with having to repeat certain parts over and over wore me out mentally.

The feeling when you can finally play that one untangle that pesky chord, configure the R and L so they’re places in the appropriate ears, plug em’ in, and let the good times roll! >=)

Amanda Cendejas Features Editor

Parents seem to love the chance to ground their child, yell at them for no apparent reason, or take away their possessions as a form of punishment. They invade privacy and know no boundaries. At least, this is how some children perceive their parents’ disciplinary methods.

Teenagers always complain that their parents don’t give them enough privacy, freedom, or leeway when it comes to these rebellious years. But really, some strictness is necessary in successful parenting. However, raising successful and smart kids also results from letting children learn from their own mistakes rather than discipline alone.

The key to parenting is a balance.

One can see that too strict of parenting builds up walls in the relationships parents form with their chil-

dren. As a parent, it is better to be laid back so that communication is easier between parents and their kids, but also strict enough so that children still respect the fact that their parent is an authoritative figure and have the final

say.

“We have to learn from our mistakes but still be able to come to our parents for help,” said freshman Melanie Keltner.

Children and teens need to be able to make mistakes in their early

I don’t always make memes, but when I do, they are Leigh memes.

Nathan Keenan Staff Writer

and has amassed almost 700 likes.

“I think the page is really funny,” says freshman Corinne Cowden.

The fun part about Leigh Memes is that you don’t need a prior understanding of memes or the people post-

Ever had a funny thought about your school that you felt should be shared with everyone? It seems that many students have felt this way, and decided to devise a vent for these creative remarks.

L e i g h Memes is a Facebook page that showcases a collection of funny pictures posted by Leigh students. A meme is a photo with words on it, usu- Memes are the newest teen craze here at Leigh. ally showcasing an ironic or sarcastic situation. In ing them. It seems to be a fun way this case, a page has been dedicated to that students can unite and poke some fun at our school, all in good fun of memes just about our school.

These pictures range from sarcas- course.

Though the photos sarcastically tic criticisms about the school construc- tion, to funny references to teachers or critique the school and staff, it is not classes. While this may sound inappro- in a serious or offensive way.

“I don’t think they’re offensive, priate, most of them are in good taste and are not offensive. The page has be- it’s all in good fun,” says junior Daisy come very popular among the students Kissane.

years without constant nagging and punishments from their parents, but also need to know to respect their actions and words.

It is also important for parents to be there for their children so that later in life, those same children will be teenagers with open relationships with their parents.

They will be able to talk to them when they need help and open up when something is causing them stress.

A balanced parenting style is the best there can be, where parents and kids easily respect each other and communicate effectively.

While there is no exact formula for this type of parenting, by consistently valuing communication and respect, children and parPhoto by Kendra Wood ents are more likely to have healthy and open relationships.

Children will grow up learning values from themselves rather than their parents alone and be more independent.

The Leigh Memes page on Facebook is the most recent sensation to cross Leigh’s campus.

The photos posted do point out flaws and critiques of Leigh and some members of the faculty but nothing crosses the line as to being inappropriate.

No persons are being attacked or berated to the point of being offensive.

If anything, it should be seen as a way for students to get their thoughts or ideas about they would like changed without having to make a formal complaint.

B u t not everyone knows about Leigh Memes.

“I’ve never heard of it,” says sophomore Kyle Morrison.

T h e page grew Photo by Sadie Williams very quickly in popularity but it it might be dying down.

This page has been a nice little stress relief for the students of Leigh.

They can see what other students post and even contribute themselves, allowing everyone to unite and have some fun. Any criticisms about it being unoriginal or not correct to “original memes” are completely missing the point of the page.

opinion

3.29.12

Reality TV show hits the high note “The Voice” vs. “American Idol”

judges, the panel seemed to offer honest and helpful advice. While some saw the judges’ input as cruel (especially Simon’s) no one could deny that most of

Since “American Idol” first aired, what they said was true. The new panel we have seen many singing competiof judges, which has been in place tions rise, only to ultimately fall. There’s for season 10 and now season 11, ofbeen “The Sing Off”, “The Singing fers no honesty. They tell almost every Bee”, and the American adaptation of contestant that their performance was “The X Factor”, but only good and to keep doone has come close in ing what they’re doing. its popularity to that of The least they could “American Idol”’s. “The do is offer constructive Voice”, which airs Moncriticism. Without any days at 8 p.m. on NBC, constructive criticism seems to be feuding with the contestants advance “American Idol” for in the show without any the title of most popuimprovement. The viewlar prime-time singing ers are only left with competition. their own opinions on

Both shows offer who they should vote different aspects which through because they please different types of have no professional inaudiences. “American put from the judges.

Idol” begins its season

On “The Voice”, with a series of auditions contestants advance to in which some of the vothe battle rounds after calists depicted are talauditions. The judges ented and some are compair up vocalists on their plete jokes. While the Photo credit by Rajashree Bhattacharya own team to sing against talented vocalists amaze The Voice makes itself heard. each other in a battle for us, the not so good ones a spot on the team. The keep us entertained by essentially providing someone to laugh at. Randy auditions because the bad singers can entire panel of judges offers their adJackson, Steven Tyler, and Jennifer Lo- be humorous and add spice to what vice on the singer and the judge whose team the contestants are on is ultimatepez (the three celebrity judges) listen to can be arbitrary auditions.

After the auditions, “Amerily left to decide which one they want to each contestant sing a song and then decide on the spot whether they make can Idol” contestants have to make it stay on their team out of the two, and past Hollywood week by judges’ votes which one goes home. it to the next round.

Although it may be hard for

“The Voice” begins its blind au- alone. Once they make it past Hol- ditions with its four celebrity judges, lywood week, they are sent on to the them, the judges always decide who Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Cee- final rounds where a winner is decided they like better out of the two. If something is lacking in a performance, they Lo Green, and Blake Shelton turning by viewers’ votes.

The judges are present in the tell the contestant. If it was boring, their backs towards the auditioning singer. They press a button if they like final rounds of “The Voice” for one bland, or pitchy they speak up.

This seems to be the one of the the voice of that singer which then simple reason: they are there to give the contestants constructive criticism crucial things that has “The Voice” turns their chair around and reveals to them the vocalist they have just chosen and advice. This seems to be an area challenging “American Idol”’s spotthat “American Idol” has failed in its light: The Voice offers honesty, while to be a part of their team.

With “The Voice” auditions, all new seasons. In its past seasons when American Idol falls short. vocalists featured have been chosen Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell were Sarah Mowad Staff Writer

by producers and are guaranteed to be talented. The judges are left to decide who they think is great. This auditioning format allows us to waste no time hearing bad singers and leaves us with only the good. On “American Idol”, anyone is allowed to audition so we see people from all different levels of singing abilities. Some prefer these types of

Starving for the Hunger Games Marissa Rodriguez Editor-in-Chief

In a lot of ways, this is applicable to our generation as a whole. We’re very opinionated on what (and whom) we like and dislike, yet when we see some potentially life-altering decisions being made by our government, all most of us can do is laugh about it on Saturday Night Live, and then move on as if these decisions don’t affect us at all.

P

The Hunger Games isn’t going to motivate our entire generation to suddenly start watching CNN or to write letters to politicians; that’s a little too idealistic for a book with a main character named after a type of bread. But maybe it can cause readers to question things around them a little bit more. You don’t have to join the Occupy movement or draft a piece of legislation (or volunteer as tribute) to take part in the political process; just become more aware of what’s around you. And try not to find yourself in an arena filled with teenagers trying to kill you. d Ro ssa ari M by to ho

ez rigu

If you were anywhere near a computer or a television this past weekend, it was pretty hard to escape all of the Hunger Games mania that’s suddenly taken pop culture by storm. And with reports that the film has already raked in over $150 million in its first weekend, it seems to be clear that The Hunger Games franchise is a force to be reckoned with.

But with success often comes unflattering comparisons and harsh criticism. Say what you will about the themes and plots behind the Harry Potter, or Twilight franchises; The Hunger Games is popular, political, and fast-paced.

But beneath all the action and teenage love triangles, lies a piece of literature that has the power to truly impact our generation.

The main character, Katniss (played by Oscar-nominated Jennifer Lawrence in the film) risks her life constantly throughout the trilogy to protect her family. Though there are elements of romance in the book, (many

fans debate whether she really belongs with Peeta or Gale… she belongs with Peeta, obviously) her true motives lie in protecting her family, at all costs.

There’s a line in the book said by Peeta (played by Josh Hutcherson) where

he is speaking about Katniss and says, “She has no idea. The affect she can have.”

page 13

Serenity in Senioritis

As weird as it sounds, I’ve never been one to procrastinate.

And no, I’m not kidding. I’m the definition of a nerd. I delegate my time perfectly, have to get all my homework done before I go out, and I have never turned in a project late.

In fact, most of my projects are completed one-two weeks before they’re due.

With that freakishly weird side of me out of the way, I’m really not that much of a nerd. But lately, as senioritis has creeped its way into my veins and nestled a nice little home within me, I feel more normal than ever!

I remember people saying, as early as sophomore year that they had “senioritis.” I am here to tell you that you do not understand the severity of senioritis until you are a senior. People say they feel it when they don’t want to do a project or don’t care about grades, classwork, or homework. That’s not senioritis prior to senior year, that’s lack of ambition, just sayin’. Wanting to skip class is not wanting to go to school because, well, it’s school. It is not senioritis.

Senioritis really began for me after winter break. I was done with college apps by October (told you I don’t procrastinate!), and I had my sights set on just a couple of colleges. Once finals were over and second semester began, I knew where I wanted to go.

Already after winter break, there’s the general feeling of not wanting to be at school. You push through until the next break in February, the next minimum day to go out, the three day weekend coming up. Vacation becomes your incentive to get everything done in classes. But on top of that, when you are a senior and know where you’ll be next year and what you’ll be doing, you don’t even see the point in coming to school any more.

Fortunately for me, studying for AP tests and planning for prom will not end officially until after May 19th, which means no senioritis in leadership or AP Gov (plus I like Mr. Mason too much to not care about his class). Each of those classes is on a separate day, so that means school every day… but after then, I’m checking out!

However, senioritis doesn’t stop at schoolwork though. Oh no, it is much more relentless than that.

It likes to invade your work life, too!

Knowing that you’re going to be a broke college student for the next four-six years of your life (depending on if you go to a private or a state) gives you every incentive not to go to work.

Why do I need to go to work and make minimum wage when it’s all going to be gone next year anyways? I’ll be swimming in thousands of dollars of debt by the time I’m 19.

Thanks, economy!

So I usually skip a couple days of work, then realize the $50 I could’ve made was the gas that could’ve been in my tank. Whoops.

And finally, senioritis invades your social life/the way you see everyone in the entire world. Sounds a little dramatic, but it’s so true.

I’ve always been a “peoplepleaser.” It bugs me when people have problems with me or when they don’t like me without reason.

Seriously, I think it bugs me more than anything else in this world.

Since I was little, I was super over-emotional when it came to fights with friends or being bullied.

One Who? One- Two!

People always told me to shake it off or not care, but that never happened because I always felt the need to be accepted. By everyone.

And while I know now that it’s impossible to make everyone happy or get along with them, it took me all of eighteen years to realize that.

So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that senioritis has actually had at least one positive effect on me. It’s made me a realist and it’s also given me a choice.

Now when people rub me the wrong way, I stop talking to them completely. I know I won’t see them after June 7th if I choose not to. I finally have the option to rid myself completely of people who do nothing but stress me out without worrying about seeing them in the halls or immature dirty looks.

Senioritis had made me realize who my real friends are. When I think about going off to college next year and where all of my other friends are going, I only really think about reuniting with 15-20 people during winter break or summer vacation (and, of course, next year’s incoming leighdership class!).

I’ve realized I don’t need to get along with everyone to be happy anymore. I know who my best friends are and those people love me and care about me. I don’t need to let people step all over me just to be liked by them. I won’t let a few negative or immature people affect my mood the way I used to because I feel like I have the choice now not to care. I won’t see them every day, I won’t see their annoying or rude facebook statuses. I’ll be off in college, living the life, surrounded by people I can’t get enough of. That’s right, be jealous! :)

Senioritis has helped me learn so much about who I am. By realizing it’s okay not to care, I’ve also realized that some people are just negative because they choose to be that way, and I’ve realized I’m not like that.

When I meet people, I don’t judge them until I’ve given them a fair chance to show that they’d be a good friend. And if someone else wants to judge me right off the bat, then that’s their problem and it’ll follow them throughout the rest of their life, while I’ll be meeting new people with an open heart and open arms, making connections and lasting friendships.

So, while senioritis makes me want to abandon all the responsibilities I have, it’s definitely had its perks.

Learning a little bit more about the world and who I am is more valuable to me than getting an A on every assignment or making eight bucks, anyways. ;)

opinion

page 14

3.29.12

Not-so-happily ever after

Romantic movies raising the hopes of girls in love Makena Volzing Staff Writer

Admit it: you can be a sucker for a good romantic movie. Whether it’s watching Ryan Gosling kissing Rachel McAdams passionately in the rain, or Cinderella riding off in her carriage with Prince Charming, you can really get caught up in the perfect moments that movies portray. But is it realistic to expect on-screen romanticism to translate to reality?

Romantic films—while cute and indulging to swoon over— raise the expectations of love in real life.

From movies, you’re taught to believe that happily ever after is your ultimate goal with love, and that everything that involves love is flawless all the time. Sounds silly when it’s put so bluntly. But deep down, this is what you want love to be.

“Romantic movies make relationships harder to work with,” said junior Michaela Bertoldo, “It’s the constant battle of ‘the next best thing’.”

This idea of expecting love to imitate romantic movies is even brought up in other films such as “Easy A”. The main character Olive (Emma Stone) makes a famous remark about how she wishes her life was like an 80’s film: “Whatever happened to chivalry? Does it only exist in 80’s movies? I want John Cusack holding a boombox outside my window. I wanna ride off on a lawnmower with Patrick Dempsey. I want Jake from Sixteen Candles waiting outside the church for me. I want Judd Nelson thrusting his fist into the air because he knows he

got me. Just once I want my life to be like an 80’s movie…But no, no, John

volunteers watch the 2001 romantic comedy Serendipity, while another 100 watched a David Lynch drama.

They found that students that watched the romantic film were more likely to believe in fate and destiny. Deeper investigation showed that fans of romantic films had a stronger belief in predestined love.

“Marriage counselors often see couples who believe that sex should always be perfect, and if someone is meant to be with you then they will know what you want without you needing to communicate it,” said Watt University’s Dr. Bjarne Holmes, “We now have some emerging evidence that suggests popular media play a role in perpetuating these ideas in people’s minds.”

This effect the media has had on our love expectations is not irreversible however. It’s just simply important to remember that while movies give us a feelgood and hopeful attitude about love, it’s not realistic. You can’t fall in love over returning a glass slipper or expect your man to leave flowers at your door every morning. Love is developed over the course of a relationship along with trust. Love is not perfect and has its complications, just like everything else in life.

Photo by Marissa Rodriguez So even though you may not be Movies like these have become a staple in the diet of a teenage girl media than you would riding off on horseback into the most likely imagine. sunset with a prince, sometimes walkHughes did not direct my life.” scenarios sound pretty fantastic. But A study done by experts at Heriot Watt ing along the off-beat path can be just If you read that quote and nodded that’s actually normal, believe it or not. University in 2008 had 100 student as wonderful. your head or at least agreed, you’ve got to admit that any one of those

St.Parties Day Christopher Wyman Business Manager

St. Pa t r i c k’s day has come and gone and for some the only remnants of the day are specks of green glitter and memories of a headache that wasn’t only from the unsavory pictures that got uploaded to Facebook. Although certainly not everyone has that same experience, for many it would be more fitting to rename March 17 “St. Party’s Day.”

Although we continue to dress in green garb, contemporary society has strayed almost entirely from the original meaning of the holiday.

Early celebrations of the holiday in colonial America grew as the Irish population and patriotism grew. Now more than 200 years later St. Patrick’s day has evolved into a day of parades and partying and for

those who observe lent, they are given the day off. Some cities such as Chicago and Indianapolis dye the river or canal that flows near them green.

“I’m Irish and I don’t think that there is really anything wrong with the way people celebrate. I think that a lot of holidays have changed over the years,” said junior Hannah Lynch.

As grand as these celebrations are, they stray far from celebrating Saint Patrick’s life.The elementary days were spent building leprechaun traps, in hopes t o

Photo by Kylie Brown

f i n d s o m e trace of green paint and glitter, signifying that we had been visited by a little man with

What you believe love should look like is much more influenced by popular

The true meaning behind the holiday formerly known as St.Patricks Day

a pot of gold.

This tradition for the young ones began to fade as we got older, and we were introduced to the awful dinners of cornbeef and hash, and coerced into taking sips of strange drinks from our parents, transforming yet again to be more about red solo cups than green shamrocks.

The only act that seemed to have been dragged out all these years is being pinched if you fail to show up in any form of green colored clothing.

“Yeah I honestly think people use St. Patricks Day as another excuse to drink and party. I remember in elementary school how everything revolved around catching leprechauns and being afraid of getting pinched if you didn’t wear green. But nowadays all the holiday seems to be about is getting drunk and possibly ‘lucky’,” said sophomore Courtney Donlon.

Although few people celebrate Saint Patrick’s day to commemorate his ousting of the snakes in Ireland, which science has proved to be simply large slugs, and explaining the holy trinity by using a shamrock, it is a holiday nevertheless. America has done what it does best, change something

Photo by Rajashree Bhattacharya

until it is more appealing.

St.Patricks day has lost a good portion of its true meaning, much like a holiday that is widely celebrated here in America, Halloween.

Halloween began as an ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain where people would wear costumes to ward off evil ghosts. The night before was known as All Hallows Eve and later turned into Halloween.

Over time Halloween evolved into what it is today, a chance for children and teenagers alike to go around neighborhoods in costume begging for candy.

3.29.12

entertainment

page 15

Amato’s: Bringing Philly to SJ Newcomers versus Food Challenge alumni; who prevails?

Blayke Leach Entertainment Editor Past. Future. Younger. Older. Hungry all the same. What happened when two new competitors challenged those from our past to compete in an all new challenge straight from the heart of Philadelphia? The Hungry Games commenced.

They approached me from the shadows. I had no idea who they were or what they wanted, all I knew is that I did not want to be there to find out. As I was about to turn and run, I heard a familiar giggle; I knew that voice. They stepped into the light and I was elated to see Eleight alumni and Food Challenge co-creators, Spencer Thresh and Andy Simionas. We embraced heartily, as they expressed their interest in bringing the old team back together.

“We have interest in bringing the old team back together. We three versus another team in an all-out eating frenzy,” said Simionas.

Amato’s Cheesesteaks immediately came to mind. Their deliciously prepared hoagies are made on the spot

with the beef freshly and finely sliced right before being placed on the grill.

There are three sizes, but only one is worthy of a challenge: the monstrous, 24 inch “Whole”.

“Could be interesting, though I do not think I will participate. I can more of a mediator, an attendee, a commentator. Well, don’t worry, I have the perfect place.

Now all we need is two tributes to volunteer for the competi...”

Before I could even finish my statement, two more figures approached in the darkness.

“We volunteer as tribute!” said a recognizably squeaky voice. “We have eaten far and wide and no one has yet to beat us and our surprisingly huge stomachs.”

It had to be...

“Kyle Brinkman?” inquired Thresh.

Of course, junior Kyle Brinkman! Nobody with that cracked of a voice and lanky figure could be as confident as him. And of course joining him was his partner in crime, junior Derek Hogle.

With everyone fine with the arena,

the competition was planned. The 1st Hungry Games was planned and about to begin.

We gathered at Amato’s and ordered the meal: two whole, classic philly

cheesesteak, filled with simply steak and cheese, to the point of overflowing, normally meant to fill the stomachs of at least 4 people. And while 12 inches of hoagie does not sound like much of a challenge, a “shorty”, a 6 inch sand-

wich at Amato’s, is the most common meal for one person, with many taking home leftovers. Now eat two of them, as fast as you can, in a competition format. With such short notice, a “whole” for one person sounded too cruel, with not a bright outlook waiting at the other end; only 5 people have ever finished a “whole” in about 15 years.

Both teams dug right in, each t a k i n g one of the “s h o r t y” s

in both hands, eating to the brink of exhaustion, and fighting the urge to heave it back up, not from the taste, but from the sheer size. Nobody seemed to have a real problem until each of the four competitors got near the end of their first sandwich. Three tributes fought on to the second portion of their meal, but one stood alone at the end of the pack.

“I shouldn’t have eaten two burgers for lunch, I am not even hungry anymore!” cried Thresh, trying to continue the fight for glory.

With the outcome not looking so kind for the alumni volunteers, Brinkman and Hogle carried on. Brinkman, shaking a little with intensity as he ate, finished his hoagie first and began helping Hogle with the leftover scraps along the bottom of his basket. Not long after, Simionas ate the last bite, but was too full to help Thresh eat a whole second half.

Finally, after 9 minutes and 55 seconds of painfully stretching their gullets, the newcomer team became the first ever Hungry Games champions, with Simionas looking disappointedly upon the leftovers of his team’s sandwich. Thresh, too far gone to realize he photos by Blayke Leach lost, kept struggling with the sub, until Simionas and I dragged him away from the counter, him struggling all the way.

And with that, the Hungry Games has concluded, with a surprising victor.

Until next time, Eleight readers, and may the odds ever be in your favor.

Junior Kyle Brinkman, still hungry after his competition, has expressed an interest in eating the “whole” sandwich on his own, trying to fulfill a challenge only 5 others have finished. Will he finish? Only time will tell.

Throat-ache warfare Google Updates:

Major artists cancel tours due to plaguing throat injuries Nikita Zakladnyi Staff Writer A singer’s golden cords do not always tremble like the arms of Hyperion, that even the most magnificent harp strings are bound to break. Singers like John Mayer and Adele have clashed with the weave of fate with their very own injured voice box.

Many popular singers suffer injures from singing and are forced to take a break from gigs, concerts, and any other event requiring them to strut their vocal grooves.

Adele, among others, was cursed with a throat hemorrhage leaving her unable to continue performing since early October. Recently, Adele fully recovered from the injury around mid-February.

To detail, Adele had a hemorrhaged polyp on her vocal cord. To fix Adele’s throat problem she had to undergo microsurgery in November to seize the bleeding.

John Mayer failed to avoid the razor edged vocal stress that put his voice box in a wheel chair. Yes, it is true, John

Mayer’s album will be postponed as he goes on a hiatus to nurture his throbbing passionate song-spew hole. Eager fans will have to surf the wave of patience while awaiting his release of killer tunes.

To his own demons, John Mayer faced granuloma growth on his vocal cords. A

path of health is laid out for Mayer for him to walk upon paved with his crest of riches until he revives his quiver inducing voice. The path of health has been dubbed as ‘intensive treatment’.

Mar. 10 was not the first time Mayer was stricken with the voice fiasco. Last year in the month of September Mayer had to cancel two concerts and postpone an album due to a throat problem.

Emerging singers and vocalists should not be oblivious to the possibility of a throat injury. Long, strenuous, reoccurring sessions of singing and shouting could cause serious injury to one’s throat rather than improving it. Logically, if you feel as though you’re blowing sandpaper through your throat it’s time to stop. A “workout” approach to training one’s singing voice will result in a negative and unfavorable outcome.

Concerts Sadie Williams Visuals Editor

Do you love music?

Are you a frequenter of your favorite band’s concerts?

Well Google’s ever-improving search engine has a new feature for the convenience of music junkies such as yourself.

Trying it out is easy. In the Google search bar, type in the name of he artist you wish to know more about.

In addition to the common music videos, pictures of album covers, and fan pages that would normally result from such a search, you will find a list of locations and dates of said band’s upcoming tours.

This appears at the top of the results page and is followed by the multitudes of media coverage thereafter.

If you’ve ever had a difficult time figuring out where to buy tickets from, how much they’ll be and where you’re headed, this nifty new feature makes it easy.

The new section of information makes balancing your concert-

attending budget and coordinating with your calendar simple.

The sole drawback to the fancy update is how it chooses what events to show. If a band is searched on a computer in one area, the only events to come up in the results are ones taking place nearby.

Of course this can be yet another convenience if you are looking up a band that consistently has several shows at several locations.

But, if someone searched for a band who’s concerts are few and far between, there will be no results for their events if they aren’t near you.

Therefore, if a devout fan is willing to travel many a mile to see a performance, a far-off event that they are willing to attend may not result from there search because it is “too far”.

If you’ve ever had a difficult time figuring out where to buy tickets from, how much they’ll be and where you’re headed, this nifty new feature makes it easy. Try it out; open Google and search for your favorite artist, they might just be coming to a venue near you.

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page 16

3.29.12

The Hunger Games Directed by Gary Ross tributes from their district, one boy and one girl, to compete in a nationally televised battle to the death, called the Hunger Games. When her younger sister Prim is selected to compete, Katniss volunteers to take her place, and is

could send them additional supplies and survival gear during the Games.

Thomas Viola

The book series rose to populariStaff Writer ty thanks to excellent writing by author Suzanne Collins, conveying the intricate relationships, struggles, and the desperation of the characters you fol Sometimes when Hollywood low. The film falls attempts to transform a book into a ET! is something fantasWEresult S dreadfully short movie, the IM S ME CU in this regard. tic. Francis Ford Coppola succeeded Kirsch Jennifer Lawwith Mthe Godfather addyOscar-winning r ritePeter ff W2, rence, the actress Parts 1Sta and Jackson turned rat. portraying Kat“Lord of the Rings”liqinto uat a pcinematic sci David iu ir iat, g niss, displays very masterpiece, and Heyman u im a is s st li a iu r ve Tisl made thet magical oreet world i b u lo q little emotion of Harry Potn m u im d ugait, su Sustister os athe is In it non u ss q e throughout the li come alive silver screen. ra e e u io g au o cort vulla“Hunger umRoss t nostio ddirector fe film, mostly goli Games”, Gary e u i fe u a id ll c is nu bla fa sequmovie am lor This ing through the fails toitdo is very voso. eliqulargely nostrud d at, commodiam t- it c se sequence of a fan service, and those who go to see t, ra is e n elit non he uis atumthe books dreading gaitbe u o a events with a without first will st s o ro e n t tu quis e m dun dazed, convery lost. stinibh eu orer sit lore con o n it n em olobfamiliar with t t am, vnot fused look

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“Hunger Games”, the book and film q m li a e v im e velen it eliss Photos courtesy of Lionsgate stio dgirl dolore The supstar a teenage named Katniss ro e te c v e , it m a atu aug t sent to the Capitol, along with Peeta, porting cast turns in decent perm quin ta re p lo lu o o v Everdeen, who lives the country of d laore min ero odionum nim nulput the male tribute from their district. formances, but there is no actor or Panem, which ad is comprised mofy twelve tem zzrit olor sum d o o st tetue ro Over the next few weeks, Peeta actress who succeeds in truly coming districts.

Long ago, re lo o m nis a t e and Katniss train alongside the 22 com- alive as their character. nulluthet districts velis joined u ipetitors from the other 11 dis- Additionally, the storytelling together and m o dredolum in m e tricts, preparing themselves method chosen for the film cuts belled against the ip d a is ess dolore for the fight of their lives, out many of the complex relais n s li e vulput all the while attempting to tionships between characvenim qi el make themselves like- ters that the series was m te c se ilis oreetumknown for, which C e m si r in s exe Im o h N ib m n e makes re h o myOb utatin or erex ea a b lo is o il d sc d si inis ilis a Ut la fac r sum nit praes exerit at. ore b lo o v im aesse quis government, which operates out of a massive city called the Capitol. The districts were defeated, and as punish- able to all of Panem, ment are forced every year to send two in hopes of earning sponsors, who

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VIE! O M Y A Y

it hard to get attached to any of the characters. It would have been a much better idea to have Katniss also take on a story telling role, with some sort of narrative to explain events as they happen. Instead, the

screenwriters simply rely on their audience to have already read the books and be able to fill in the blanks on their own.

From a technical standpoint, the special effects throughout the movie look very convincing, and are well done.

Unfortunately, the camera becomes very shaky in some scenes, attempting to convey a sense of distress or tension, but instead begins to make the audience dizzy and incur a headache.

T h e makeup for the film was absolutely amazing. The masses who inhabit the Capitol perfectly portray the opulence of the city, with citizens dressed in wild garments and eyepopping hair and makeup, the likes of which n o movie has ever before seen.

A lot of intricate detail is put into the costumes, and it shows.

O v e r all, the movie was by no means bad, but it could have been so much more. Longtime fans of the novel series will enjoy the film, but if you haven’t already read the series, don’t expect too much.

C

The Odd Future Tape Vol. 2 Performed by Odd Future Brianna Houston News Editor

Anyone who keeps a close eye on the hip-hop scene is well aware of Odd Future and their distinctive brand of music since the group’s founder, Tyler the Creator, caught surprised hip-hop fans’ attention for winning MTV’s Best New Artist award in 2011. A high amount of their buzz has come from shock value and a lot of what many would consider unlawful antics such as tearing up venues and religious blasphemy.

The collective founder, Tyler the Creator, caught major media attention with his 2009 debut album Bastard. It’s been a few years since the group has become well-known but Tyler, along with the rest of the group, Hodgy Beats, Left Brain, Earl Sweatshirt, Domo Genesis, Mike G, Frank Ocean, Syd tha Kid, Matt Martians, Jasper Dolphin and Taco, have developed a large, loyal fan base.

The Odd Future Tape Vol. 2 is their second collective wide project and is a hopeful success to further build

their fan base. By listening to previous albums and singles, it can be inferred that in this album, the L.A. collective has mellowed out a bit.

The album opens with “Hi.”, a song which really isn’t much of a song, performed

by L-Boy, labeled as another g o u p member of OF, explaining

the group (his opinion of their looks, etc.) and an introduction to their new album. Tracks such as “Real”, “We Got”, and “NY (Ned Flander)” are somewhat awkward, twisted pieces that drove Odd Future from obscurity. This material is balanced throughout with some hard beats.

“Ya Know,” is Syd the Kyd and Matt Martians’s side project and is a trippy, futuristic dance track. Vocalist Frank Ocean, who many know opened Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne, offers “White,” a soulful solo piece about his first love.

The album closer, “Oldie,” is over ten minutes and features a verse from Earl Sweatshirt, who semi-mysteriously disappeared in late 2011. It isn’t clear as to why

he had left, but it is inferred, through intereviews with Tyler, that his mother sent him away due to his lyrical content and mischievous actions with the group. He recently returned in early 2012.

Odd Future is not for everyone and people who take offense easily should steer clear. They are seemingly devoted to offending anything and everything possible. When I first heard of Tyler the Creator, I was biased towards his Best New Artist win because I had no idea who he was. By word of mouth I heard some things here and there about him, his group, and what they stand for. From what I had heard I didn’t like them therefore I didn’t care for their music. After listening to their new album, although it is their most vocally relaxed album, it has allowed me to appreciate their music style and diversity. I like Odd Future.

Despite their profanity and obscure musical talents, perhaps those who have been offended by Odd Future in the past can look beyond the rough, hard-headed exterior they bring to the table and appreciate the crew’s agile lyricism and agree with Tyler’s conclusion of Odd Future: “Just admit, not only are we talented, we are rad.”

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3.29.12

page 17

21 Jump Street Directed by Phil Katherine MacQuarrie Staff Writer

Shmidt and Jenko were far from similar in high school. Jenko, played

by Channing Tatum, was a talented athlete and a ladies man to say the least, while Shmidt (Not so slim Shady), played by Jonah Hill, didn’t seem to have quite as much luck in his teenage years.

But as fate would have it, when the two high school prom no-shows meet again in police training, they combine their brains and brawn to form a lasting friendship. The two graduate their training only to hit quite a rut in their careers. They spend their time biking around a park and trying desperately to gain respect and put their acquired skills to work.

When yet another attempt at arrest goes very poorly executed, the dynamic duo is sent to a new location to bring back an old operation, 21 Jump Street. 21 Jump Street is a janky old church, headquarters to an undercover unit where youthful looking cops attend high school in order to catch bad guys who are trying to corrupt kids.

Lord

and Chris Miller

Here they meet their boss Captain Dickson, played by Ice Cube, and other high school posers.

Shmidt and Jenko then take on the identities of h i g h school s t u dents Doug and Br a d and are

sent to live at Shmidt’s parents house.

For the remainder of the movie, the priceless pair struggles frantically to find the suppliers of a popular drug while trying to survive high school one more time.

The boys find however, that high school has dramatically changed from when they were students.

The roles seem to reverse as Hill finds himself in with the popular kids while Tatum finds his place with the nerds. Their high school experiences lead to the boys accompanying each other to their very first prom where it all goes hay-wire.

Their journey to make it to the big leagues is filled with many awkward situations and hilarious outcomes.

The viewer can’t help but to laugh out loud while watching the two undercover cast-offs trip on drugs, throw parties, and try to make friends.

You’ll find yourself cracking up the whole way through and rooting for the duo to succeed. They find themselves in ludicrous situation after ludi-

crous situation continuously throughout the hour and 49 minute movie.

The film is filled with lots of comedy, action, and a little romance, making it a perfect blend. The idea that these grown men could pass as high school students might be a little ridiculous and hard to believe, but writer Michael Bacall clearly recognizes that as well and so do many of his characters.

Casting was also excellent, Channing Tatum proved to be not only a heart-throb but incredibly funny, while a recently slimmed out Jonah Hill is still as versatile and hilarious as ever.

Also, the surprise guest appearance from a few original Jump Street series stars make for an ironic and funny reunion.

The movie was rated R for prevalent drug use, under-aged drinking, and foul language. It however wasn’t too raunchy and wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable to watch.

I highly recommend this movie, it had the whole theater laughing and was all around fun to watch. If you are looking for a light hearted and hilarious film, 21 Jump Street is a must see.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Spring Musical:Fiddler on the Roof Thea Rodine, Motel played by Calvin Cotton, and The Matchmater played by Kylie Brown.

The matchmaker did a great job of Directed by making the audience laugh as well as interacting with the crowd. Also, TeElizabeth Neipp vye showed enthusiasm through his role and remained that way through Leigh High School’s spring musiout the three hours of the show. cal, “Fiddler on the Roof ”, brought the

Overall, the entire company is crowd of Leigh students together very talented and entertaining to watch. through upbeat and entertaining

An auperformances on dience member, March 8th, 9th 10th, Senior Isabel 15th 16th, and 17th.

Barrera said,

“Fiddler on “My favorite the Roof ” takes part was when place in Tsarist the dad, and the Russia and centers man that wantaround a poor milked his daughter’s man named Tevye, hand in marthe loving father of riage danced five daughters, and together. I also his endeavors to liked how Tevye maintain his family didn’t want the and Jewish tradition traditions to while outsiders inchange because trude on his family, of their religion the people of Anyet he let his atevka, and the life Photos by Jennifer Williams daughters marry they’ve all known. who they want Tevye has to Many of the production’s actors and actresses performing a scene. deal with his three eldest daughters, shown throughout the show, especially ed, besides the third daughter who Tzeitel, Hodel, and Chava, who are the part when the Russian Dancers wanted to marry her love but the faall willful and whose choices to marry flipped over the other cast members. ther didn’t let her because he was not I was very impressed with Jewish, so she ran away with him. I the men they love rather than who Tevye wishes moves them further each participant in the play and I learned that traditions don’t have to and further away from “tradition”. would gladly go see the show again. be broken, but they can be changed.

A few of the main roles included, It was very entertaining and musical.”

Senior Kitt Ynchausti, who “Fiddler on the Roof ” is an eyeplays the role of a Russian dancer said, The Fiddler played by Tyler Castro, “Everyone should definitely come see The Rabbi played by Jacob Gemette, opening and heart-warming play that the musical because our cast is filled Tevye played by Jeremy Pack, Golde teaches that traditions don’t have to with incredibly talented people.” played by Karina Howard, Tzeitel be broken but they can be changed.

The play takes place in the played by Saida Mulder, Hodel played recently built performing arts cen- by Sara-Grace Kelly, Chava played by Kayla Pavlicevich Staff Writer

ter which seats a crowd of at least 150 people. The atmosphere and overall performance creates a professional feel. The scenes flowed together nicely and a variety of different settings for each scene was shown.

I enjoyed the music pieces such as the famous songs, “Tradition,” “Matchmaker,” “If I Were A Rich Man,” and “Sunrise, Sunset.”

Also, impressive dance moves were

Open Mic Night dazzles again Nanxi Tang In-Depth Editor

mer president Bianca Brozsus. This year, Literaleigh is aiming to pub On Mar. 1, Leigh High School’s lish their magazine on a bigger scale creative writing club, Literaleigh, - for that, they’ll need more money. transformed the cafeteria into an are The evening included a medley na for Leigh students to display their of acts, ranging from junior Josh Saytalents in a comfortable environment. re’s poetry slam to senior Carina AnThere were tables set up across the derson’s trombone performance. Evroom, decorated with red flowing gos- eryone was welcome to showcase their samer and each was surrounded by two talents, or simply read a story on stage. to three chairs. As the lights began to Freshman Paris Bristow and Ryan dim, chairs scraped the ground and all Hammer performed as a duet on stage; eyes turned to the black background in this was their second Open Mic-Night. anticipation for the night’s upcoming “We’ve been singing together performances. for like a year. We

This was take lessons toL i t e r a l e i g h’s gether. We like to second Opensing rock songs,” Mic night of said Bristow. the year; their There were also first one was some newcomheld back in ers as well. “This D e c e m b e r. is [my first time Photo by Jinny Jung Literaleigh here.] I’ve alwas found- Senior Ryan Malinsky spittin’ fire. ways wanted to ed last year by Bianca Brozsus do a Talent Show type thing at our and Caralyn Lee, it is now headed school, and I guess this is the closest by co-presidents Maria Aguilar thing I found. I think I did pretty and Deng-Tung Wang. well. I’ve performed before and

“Literaleigh is a club dedi- so as long as I hear laughing, I’m cated to literature and creative writ- happy with how I did,” said Sayre. ing and serves as a forum for people Intended to be a simple, elto express themselves through poetry egant affair in the cafeteria, Open and prose,” said junior Jonathon Yu. Mic-Night ended with a general

“[Last year, Literaleigh was] able consensus from the audience that to publish on a limited release at the it had been a sophisticated eveend of the school year, which was re- ning packed full of entertainment. ally cool. The Open-Mic nights serve “Yeah, I think [it was a success]. as Literaleigh’s primary avenue for rais- There were a lot more people here than I ing funds to print their annual maga- thought,” said junior Jung Wu. “I liked zine at the end of the year. And even the theme; I liked the tables. It kind though it was published on a smaller of had this quiet late night café kind scale, we still got about 50 or 60 cop- of feel,” said junior Kevin Winslow. ies out for our club members, faculty, Overall, Open Mic-Night conand anyone else who expressed an in- cluded as a successful evening; the terest in obtaining a copy,” said for- next one will be coming up in May!

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Bounty Hunters

The Extra Point

In early March, the world of professional sports, primarily professional football, was rocked by the discovery that Greg Williams, a defensive coordinator in the NFL, designed and ran a bounty program that rewarded players for injuring targeted opponents, with rewards reaching all the way up to $1,000 dollars for knocking an opponent out, and $1,500 for a cart-off (when a player must be carted off the field on a stretcher).

The NFL’s investigation confirmed that Williams ran this system during his tenure with the New Orleans Saints, with payoffs reaching their peak in 2009, the year the Saints won the Super Bowl.

Players from other teams Williams has coached in the past, such as the Washington Redskins, have come forward and said that similar systems had been put in place on their teams as well, but the NFL has not confirmed such stories as of this writing.

Since the bounty system was discovered, a wide array of NFL players, coaches, and analysts have given their opinions on the morality of this scandal, and the importance of its discovery to the league and the game.

Fran Tarkenton, a Hall of Fame quarterback, called the system “despicable.” In the Wall Street Journal he wrote, “I played football professionally for 18 years.

I played against some of the toughest men imaginable. Mean Joe Greene. Deacon Jones. Bob Lilly.

Ray Nitschke. Dick Butkus. Jack Youngblood. And I risked getting hit more than any other quarterback of my day.

No one ran more than I did—forwards, backwards, and sideto-side.But in those 18 years, I only missed five games due to injury.

My opponents wanted to beat me, and they certainly wanted to hit me to achieve that goal—but no one wanted to hurt another player deliberately.

For all our competitive fire, and despite that strong desire to destroy our opposition, as professional NFL players we were part of a brotherhood.

There was no joy in seeing someone injured on the field of play, even if it gave our team a better chance to win.

After all, we wanted to prove that we were the best; and to be the best, you have to beat the best—not beat the JV.” On the other hand, Ladanian Tomlinson, future Hall of Fame running back of the New York Jets, and before that the San Diego Chargers, said that he felt it would be “an honor” to have a bounty placed upon him, provided no one was attempting any illegal hits in their efforts to knock him out of a game.

But the fact of the matter remains, what Greg Williams did was against the rules of the NFL, and he should be punished accordingly for it. Williams’ fate, as well as that of the entire Saints organization, rests solely at the discretion of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

However, Goodell has never had to deal with a scandal of this magnitude before.

No NFL Commissioner has. The closest instance anyone has to compare this to is the New England Patriots Spygate, which pales in comparison to the magnitude of this bounty program.

Some have called for Williams’ head, saying that he should be banned from the NFL permanently.

Others have said a one year suspension would be fitting.

The media can only speculate on Goodell’s stance as to what the severity of punishment should be.

Still, one must ask, just how rare is this bounty program?

Don’t other teams do the same thing?

This is certainly possible, but just because it is common doesn’t make it right.

Williams rewarded his players, with decent sized amounts of money, for being brutal and vicious towards their fellow players, which is inexcusable.

Part of the culture and mentality of football is hard, punishing hits, and if a player tries to hit someone a little bit harder, there is nothing wrong with it as long as it is a legal hit.

Players like Troy Polamalu and Ray Lewis are known for crushing hits.

It is when this crosses the line, to a point like in the 2009 NFC Championship game, where Saints linebacker Jonathon Vilma allegedly offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who could knock Vikings quarterback Brett Favre out of the game.

That this becomes an abomination of the sanctity of the game.

One unidentified player can even be heard yelling, “Favre is down, Favre is down, give me my money!”

This reflects so poorly on the sport, and casts a mark over the entire NFL community.

Players and coaches who condone and actively participate in such programs, hunting down other players maliciously and intentionally trying to cause them harm, all for a small bonus on their next paycheck, simply do not deserve the privilege that is playing in the NFL.

3.29.12

Athlete of the Month

Varsity soccer player Josue Mendoza Jeannie Ceglar Staff Writer

Mendoza’s love for the sport isn’t just for his entertainment but for his dream to make it big in the college world.

“This

Most people will unfortunately underestimate the game of soccer, but they don’t realize the passion and commitment that some people have for the game. One person who can prove that is Junior Josue Mendoza. He is one of Leigh’s star Varsity soccer players.

Mendoza has been playing on might be too cliche to say, but my Leigh’s varsity soccer team since fresh- main university I want to go to is man year and has been playing out- Standford. I’ve been working really side school since he was 5-years-old. hard towards my grades, staying foHis current position is Midfielder cused and just trying to get better and Forward on Leigh’s varsity soccer and better at soccer because I want to get a athletic scholarship. I want team.

Mendoza was inspired by his dad to work towards being an engineer.” p l a y in this sport.

“My dad has been playing since he was very young, and he’s always wanted me to play. He’s my idol because he’s won so many awards.

He just has so m u c h passion for the game.” A diligent p l a y e r, Mendoza s p e n d s Josue cheering after making a goal vs. Yerba Buena a great Not visualizing playing any other amount of his time practicing or con- sport, Mendoza also has great interests ditioning up to 4 to 5 hours a day.

“I practice everyday, no matter if it’s in other astounding, but talented things with the school or with outside club such as writing music. “On my spare soccer. I also go running to stay con- time I like making music, I like making beats or writing down lyrics whenever ditioned.”

I have nothing else to do. Whenever my teammates and i are

Photo

by

Jinny

Jung

at a tournament, we just freestyle.” When not out on the field, Mendoza also likes running, hanging with friends and occasionally reading.

Playing soccer for an extraordinary amount of time, Mendoza has one memory that will always stick with him. Mendoza had been involved in the biggest tournament in the country in Dallas, 2008 and scored a half field goal.

“I don’t think i will ever forget that moment, it was great.”

Playing in the midst of a game, Mendoza also always keeps his head in the game with encouraging thoughts.

He tries to keep focus and have a direct connection with his teammates. “What’s going through my mind when I’m playing is my team and keeping that team work, and winning bePhoto courtesy of Arman Sanie cause losing is not an option.”

So passionate, Mendoza no doubt has a strong devotion for soccer.

With his high set goals in mind, leadership qualities and his determination, Mendoza can indubitably achieve his successes.

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3.29.12

page 19

Journey to the Leigh-gue championship

Girls varsity comes home with a win, while boys suffer a loss but keep their heads up captain, Josue Mendoza, who had received a red card in the previous game against Lincoln which prevented him from participating in the first round of CCS.

“Not getting that red card may have changed the outcome of CCS, but I just have to say oh well, it was

Chloe Tamaro Staff Writer

They’re back, and this year, the varsity soccer teams are stronger than ever.

During the week of Feb. 13, both mens and womens varsity soccer achieved victory and rose to be the top team in their respective league.

The women’s team finished out the season with eleven wins, two ties, and one loss, while the men’s team ended with eight total wins, five ties, and a single loss.

“I viewed this as an incredible season,” said Josue Mendoza, co-captain of the men’s team, “I’ve played with many groups of players, but these guys were the hardest working and most humble.”

For the men’s team, success tasted especially sweet: 2012 was the first year since 1999 that the soccer program had taken home the gold.

“To everyone, the most important thing was team success, rather than individual success, and no one allowed their own ego to get in the way of our goal,” said Frank Von Rassler, the head coach for mens varsity soccer.

Although the women’s team last won champs as recently as 2008, they are not less proud of the accomplishment.

“We won league champs when I was a freshman, so being able to win again during my last season here at Leigh, it’s great,” said Courtney Pangborn, senior.

According to Zarette Munoz, co-captain of the womens varsity soccer team, the key to success for the

Photo courtesy of Jessica Hauck

women’s team was staying positive in the face of hardship.

“We lost four of our starters during the season [due to injury] trying to fill those spots was difficult, but everyone showed up to practice everyday that they could and worked hard to improve together as a team,” said Munoz.

Having a young team, made up of mostly juniors and sophomores proved to be the most difficult challenge to overcome for the men’s team. “This was a young team,” said Aaron Kaefer, assistant coach of the men’s varsity team, “they had to learn how to work together as a team in order to be successful.”

Becoming the top team in the league guaranteed that both teams would make it through the first round of

Central Coast Sections (CCS).

However, the men’s team entered their first game of CCS without their

Keeping up with March Madness A look into the super hyped basketball scene Andrew Van Brunt Staff Writer

Finally after a week full of record setting upsets and grueling play, the field has officially been trimmed to the Sweet Sixteen.

The Murray StateColorado State game that kicked things off on Thursday afternoon legitimately feels like it was about a month ago.

B e fore that day, only 4 number 15 seeds had ever advanced past the first round, but that would soon change.

M i s souri who was favored to win the western bracket fell to the distinguished school of Norfolk State led by a monstrous performance

by Kyle O’Quinn, who scored 24 points and had 14 rebounds which led to him practically becoming a household name.

Later that night the drama con-

tinued with Lehigh triumphantly beating the Duke Blue Devils, but that wasn’t the end of the madness. Virginia Common Wealth last years Cinderella story, upset the highly proclaimed team

Wichita State.

But unfortunately the glass slipper did not fit for either Lehigh, Norfolk State or VCU, who all lost tragically over the weekend.

It was definitely an unbelievable and historic weekend in college basketball with a pair of 15 seeds winning games within hours of each other, 7 double-digit seeds advancing to the Round of 32 in one day, and the state of Ohio posting a perfect 8-0 record and sending four different teams to the Sweet 16.

It is still hard to believe that there h a s n’t been an overtime game or a game winning buzzer beater yet.

B u t despite all the insanity, it’s only the third week of March, and all four of the tournament’s No. 1 seeds are still playing, and top overall seed Kentucky still appears to be unbeatable and a head above the rest of the field.

bound to happen at some point,” saidMendoza.

Both the men’s and women’s team were eliminated in the CCS quarter finals.

“Being eliminated so early on in CCS was definitely a bittersweet end to the season. On the one hand, we’re all really proud of winning league, but losing in CCS was not the way we wanted the season to end,” said Trevor Kaefer, junior.

Although an early loss in CCS was not desirable, both players and coaches agree that the season was even better than they had predicted.

“I watched a lot of girls really work hard and step up to take on new roles [after their teammates were injured].

Early on, I thought that we could win, just from the mind set and mentality that [the girl’s] had,” said Michelle Kennedy, head coach of the women’s varsity soccer team.

Ho p e s are high for next year’s returning players.

“I view this year to have been a major accomplishment, and everyone should know, we’ll be gunnin’ for that CCS title and bringing it back home next year,” said Photo courtesy of Arman Sanie Mendoza.

3.29.12

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