The Eleight October 2011 Edition

Food Challenge, page 12

College 101, page 5

In-Depth, page 9

Freshman class officers, page 2

New coach in town, page 14

An Independent Publication of Leigh High School

Volume 50 Issue No. 1 October 27, 2011

Pictured in Longhorn: Junior Emily Bartel performs with the drumline on Oct. 21.

Around the world in five days: A Homecoming Week of international proportions Sunna Thorkelsdottir Staff Writer

Batmazian.

Half the 20 bags in the hands of the nominees had black t-shirts inside, with a white “ H C ” spraypainted on the front.

The seniors who

Togas, cat tails, tiaras, flannels, white, gold, green, and black; sound familiar? Leigh’s halls were filled with students dressed head to toe with spirit during the school’s 49th homecoming week: “Around the World in 5 Days”.

“Homecoming is something you should cherish and go all out for,” said junior Emma Batmazian, a Leadership student. “The week is supposed to emphasize school pride and spirit…and get us pumped for the rest of the semester.”

Batmazian is part of Coronation, the group in charge of all things Homecoming Court.

Junior Jessica Hauck and sophomores Daniela Czerny and Isabel Haggerty are also on Coronation.

The Homecoming Court Top 10 were announced on Oct. 4, along with the theme of the whole week and each individual day’s theme. Backstage, the Top 20 were opening their goody bags, excitedly waiting to see who was on the Court.

The Top 20 were chosen through a vote ahead of time by the entire class of 2012. Every senior was given a list of the All photos by Sadie Williams whole senior class, where they Junior Josh Sayre catches the crowd’s attention at the voted for their Homecoming rally in the quad on Monday for “Mt. Rushmore Day.” nominations. The top 10 girls and guys with the most votes became the Top 20 to represent their had one of these t-shirts in their goody class. “Along the way, the students bags-- meaning they had been chosen learn more about the Homecoming for the Top 10-- put them on and ran Court through bios and pictures that out, one by one, to a cheering gymnaare used on the voting ballot[s],” said sium. All ten of the senior “royalty”--

Beware!

Michael Rea Staff Writer

Blood, death, and cockroaches: A particularly gruesome history lesson or Leigh’s haunted house? The school’s haunted house will be running for its second year and will be hosted in the cafeteria on Oct. 26-29 from 7 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. as well as during lunch on Thursday and Friday for $6 on a student’s first visit ($8 for adults), $3 at lunch time, and $2 for repeat visits.

Produced by the Drama Department and funded by Drama Club, the haunted house has opened its doors once again for all to see. The haunted house is named “Carib Manor” and three separate scripts have been writ-

ten by Jacob Gemette, Kimi Schiefer, and Maria Aguilar, meaning that each time you enter the haunted house the experience will be different.

Carib Manor is intended to tell a story with a theme of cannibalism.

As visitors progress through the house, they will visit several different rooms that reveal a part of the storyline.

The tension is intended to be built up until it is eventually shattered at the end.

“Last year we just threw [the haunted house] together at the last second in the middle of October. This year we started around the beginning of June and worked on it over the summer,” said director Andrea Goeke.

Once she and stage manager

Trevor Peterson, Taylor Shapiro, Danny Davis, Calvin Cotton, Broderick Baker, Emma Canepa, Rachel Yankey,

ple went all out; for example, junior Whitney Chrisman painted most of her body yellow and became Flounder from the Disney movie “The Little Mermaid”.

Next came Wednesday, “Colosseum” day. The night before, videos were circulating on Facebook: tutorials on

(most of the time).

On Friday, the football players finally got to play, greeting loud bleachers packed full of green and gold. For the whole week before, they had been getting plenty of appreciation from the cheerleaders, and now they were getting it from the rest of the school.

Faces were painted, everyone was in their class colors, and almost everyone was actually paying attention to the game.

The cheerleaders, in a thoughtful attempt to show their appreciation for the football Above: Homecoming Court guys, started their gesmakes a splash in the Quad tures on the Wednesday on Tuesday for “Great Barrier before Homecoming Reef Day.” week.

Each cheerleader Kelly Phillips, Zoe Dechose one or two players mertzis, and Katie Mcto “represent”- varsity Quarrie-- said they were cheerleaders represented “excited” to be in the varsity players, and JV Top 10- for many, it was represented JV. They Seniors Nic Le and Brad Hartsell bust a move at the lunch rally on Thursday. something they never exgot together and made pected, and mixed in with “jerseys” out of large, colthe excitement was surprise. All of the how to make a toga. Not surprisingly, ored sheets of paper, each with the ‘chosen ones’ looked animated and a massive amount of students showed last name and number of the football lively as they waved and danced. up Wednesday with bedsheets wrapped player they were representing.

On Monday, Oct. 17, Home- stylishly around their bodies.

On Monday, before school, the coming Week began with a bang. “It On Thursday, “Class Break- jerseys were hung up all over the fencwas a great experience as a freshman, down” day, the students gathered from es in the quad. On Tuesday, the team because it’s fun to see the upperclass- all four corners of the “world” to watch was surprised again with a breakfast men…enjoy homecoming,” said the rally at lunch, where Step N Dance treat of things like donuts and juice.

Mackenzie Daly, freshman class secre- and the Court Lip Sync performed.

Clearly the cheerleaders know tary/treasurer.

The Court’s routine got explosions of how much teenage, male athletes en Monday was dubbed “Mount laughter from the stands, especially joy food, because they surprised them Rushmore” day, and the whole school when the boys started doing The Ber- with more of it yet again on Wedneswas filled with red flannels, white nie. They circled the gym, doing danc- day, providing a pizza for them at shorts, and blue sparkles. Tuesday es that related to each class’s theme for lunch. was “Great Barrier Reef ”. A few peo- the day, with equally appropriate music Continued on page 3...

Carib Manor sends chills down Leigh’s spine Kristen Crooks finalized the major decisions on the haunted house, auditions were held on Sept. 27 with a no-cut policy, meaning that everybody who tried out received a role in the haunted house.

By the end of auditions, over 60 people were signed on to act in the haunted house.

However, on any given night, there will actually be about 30 people acting in the haunted house so that actors can have breaks between nights.

Having copious amounts of students involved encourages people from different social circles to come since

many people may have friends or acquaintances involved in the haunted house, whether they are usually involved in drama, sports, or just focus on their academics.

Around the beginning of S e p t e m b e r, construction began.

Art Club was given the task of helping technical the-

Photo of Bri Stromer by Kylie Brown

ater paint panels to set up in order to create the effect of a haunted house.

Furthermore, a competition was held to provide artwork that would be nominated for promotional posters and t-shirts.

Volunteers in the haunted house play dead bodies, hands reaching out of bookcases, people banging on walls, and crazed butchers. When actually performing, actors are requested to bring their own costumes if possible, otherwise costumes will be provided for them.

Overall, the creators of the haunted house are attempting to organize things so that there is variation, fright, and a story behind it. Whether or not they are successful in their endeavors is left to the visitors to decide.

“The goal is to terrify and titillate the terrific students of Leigh High school,” said drama teacher Brian Ringsted.

A “fresh” new start: Matthew Duell Staff Writer

David Shiao Ing, Matt Vargas, and MacKenzie Daly are the dynamic trio elected as class officers after a school-wide vote in September, who now hold the power to unite and represent the future generation of Leigh: the class of 2015.

The three freshmen joined the Leadership class just before Homecoming week.

“The new officers are enthusiastic, hard-working, and have stepped up to meet the demands of homecoming planning. They are handling their jobs very well,” said ASB president Danny Davis.

When Ing, the president of the class of 2015, was asked what he was going to do to unite and make the high school experience a positive and enjoyable one for his entire class, he said, “I am really going to try and get the freshman class exited and involved in spirit days and events so that we can all feel like we are a part of one big family or community.”

Ing is one of three of the primary forces who are contributing his efforts and time in the leader-

ship class to improve and prepare the class of 2015 for their 4-year residency at Leigh High.

Matt Vargas, the vice president of the class of 2015, volunteered to announce and narrate the homecoming rally and reveal during lunch on Oct. 4, with junior Kendra Schultz.

“Emceeing with Matt was a great experience because he really stepped up out of his comfort zone which is hard for a freshman to do in front of upperclassmen,” said Schultz, External Relations Senator.

“I thought it was really fun to be silly and interact with the other kids in the gym, I just wish everyone had gotten a little more excited and pumped up about the rally itself,” said Vargas, about his first-time experience of not only announcing for a high school rally, but being at one.

MacKenzie Daly, the secretary treasurer of the class, is contributing her ideas to the student government board, and is representing her class along with Ing and Vargas.

“I know MacKenzie worked re-

New freshman officers are elected to leadership

ally hard during Homecoming and mastered the Friday backdrop and made sure everything was done before she left,” said Schultz.

Senior Zoe Demertzis, ASB vice president, said, “All three of them are hard-working and very enthusiastic!

They have been contributing a lot to the class and, as far as I can tell, are enjoying it very much so far!”

The atmosphere and community of the class of 2015 so far seems positive and energetic.

“I think [the officers] have helped by making people more excited for high school,” said freshman Joe Rodriguez.

Though they’ve only been at Leigh for a few months, it seems that the freshman class officers have already made a big impact on the morale of their class.

photo by Kylie Brown

Pictured above right: The freshman officers raising class spirit for 2015 after their lip sync.

From left to right: MacKenzie Daly, freshman class secretary-treasurer; David Ing, freshman class president; Matt Vargas, freshman class vice president

profile photos by Jinny Jung

Constructive Criticism

Endless construction around Leigh campus is coming to a halt

the student bulletin for updates. into the other available classrooms. will be enclosed and equipped with

One student kilns used that isn’t looking for firing

On Sunday, Aug. 21, fences forward to these projects. went up around the new lawns in updates is Amy

“I am the quad, kicking off Unruh, who looking this year’s construcsaid, “I think forward to tion plans at Leigh. it is a good these rooms Students will be sure idea to have to be comto see more and more solar panels, pleted, so caution and off limit but I think all of our signs due to construcit would be classrooms tion as the year goes on. a better idea at Leigh

The first conto avoid can be struction project that the parking nice,” said began this past August problems inGabby Eik. were the new cement volved with

Other and trees in the quad. building the rooms that Fences were put up structures, will unto protect the freshly and instead dergo conplanted grass and allow save money struction it time to grow thick by putting this summer enough roots to be able them on are rooms to survive the inevitable our school’s 100, 200, trampling of students. r o o f s .” and the caf The fences On Dec. 1 eteria. The are scheduled to be construction A warning sign is displayed in the teacher parking lot, marking off a construccafeteria taken down on Nov. on rooms 1-10 tion site. will be mod19, which is 90 days is anticipated to begin. These class- After they are remodeled, classrooms ernized and have many similarifrom the day they rooms haven’t been touched since one and two will become regular ties to the cafeteria at Del Mar were put up, but they Leigh was established in 1962, and classrooms, room three will be for 2D that was recently remodeled. photos by Kylie Brown might be taken down will be the last row of classrooms Art classes, room four will be for 3D These improvements to Leigh’s sooner depending on Traffic cones line off areas of the student parking lot. to undergo their first renovations. Arts, and room five is intended to be a campus are the only construction the development of the roots.

Some teachers in this row have Multimedia classroom.

Throughout the year drop off plans in Leigh’s foreseeable future.

Another construction project routes will change according to the area already moved into different class- Two of the art rooms will have a that will be going underway for this the construction is taking place in, and rooms, while the rest will wait until back door that will connect to an out- entire year is the solar project in the students should pay close attention to right before the construction to move side patio that will be built. The patio Michelle Fitzsimmons Staff Writer

parking lot. Leigh will be the next school making the change of installing solar structures in the district in order to save on energy costs, as well as help save our environment.

Eight innocent lives taken in Cupertino shooting Sean Hiller Staff Writer

At 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, at the Lehigh Hansons Permanente Cement Plant in Cupertino, Shareef Allman, a disgruntled worker, opened fire on his coworkers. On Thursday, Oct. 6, Allman was lying dead in a Cupertino driveway.

Allman’s attack came suddenly during a group meeting at the company. Before the meeting came to a close, Allman left the office and returned with his firearm and began to shoot.

Coworkers were taken by surprise, due to the fact that Allman had been working diligently the past couple of days.

He had come in that morning acting cheerful and said his usual good mornings before going to get a coffee. Everything seemed normal until Allman appeared with his gun and pulled the trigger.

After the initial shooting, Allman then continued his killing spree for the next couple of hours as an area wide man hunt began.

Cupertino police went from house to house as the community waited in fear. All the schools and several businesses in the area were closed. One of these schools was Archbishop Mitty.

Some Mitty students expressed a lack of concern at the situation.

“It was actually kind of fun.

We just listened to our iPods and went on facebook and watched movies,” said Mitty junior Alex Kirchick.

While the students stayed inside their classrooms and shot the breeze, Shareet Allman was hiding out somewhere in the streets of Cupertino. The

have shot himself at that time.”

After 24 hours of searching, the killer was no more. The community could finally relax. “We’re just glad it’s over,” Cupertino resident Lisa Young told the Mercury News, “It’s been nerve-racking around here.”

Police say that Allman was placing guns in certain locations for what they believed was his preparation of a final standoff.

People who once thought Allman to be a rational and caring person were in shock when they heard the things he did and how everything was so premeditated.

Allman had a previous record of making mistakes at work and not owning up to them. Allman had been confronted before Wednesday about his latest mistake which involved snagging wires with an overturned truck. This further irritated Allman who already believed he was being targeted.

“He thought Map of Cupertino area shows sites where recent shootings occured. everybody was after him,” “We didn’t know he shot Mike Ambrosio a coworker of Allto resume their regular activities.

Thursday, Oct. 6, Allman was lying himself until they did the autop- men told the Mercury News.

“He wasn’t thinking no more.” dead in an unidentified person’s driveway. sy,” Sunnyvale police Captain David Allmen had made up his mind

Initial reports said that Allman Verbrugge told the Mercury News.

“In the split second it takes and on that dreadful Wednesday, he was shot dead by Cupertino Police, but a couple of days later the autopsy proved to have someone point a gun at lost control and ended up changdifferently. Coroners concluded that you, they began firing and he must ing the Cupertino area forever. students had to stay inside their classrooms from about 7:40 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at which point they were allowed

while Allman had been shot numerous times by police, the final life taking shot came from his own hand gun.

Homecoming, continued from the front page Sunna Thorkelsdottir Staff Writer

On Thursday morning, every football player received a “goodie bag” in first period. They were told it was anonymous, and even though in many cases someone nearby knew which

cheerleader it was from, it was kept a very big secret until the next day, Friday.

“The football players really appreciated it and we couldn’t be happier.

They did a really good job and made homecoming week a little more special,” said Gabe Davis, varsity quarterback. The two teams, cheer and football, greeted each other with gifts on Friday during the “reveal”, where the

players finally learned who had been behind all their personal gifts. The girls showed up with baked goods, and the boys showed up with flowers and gifts.

“Mainly homecoming is about the football players, and I thought it was really cool to let them know we appreciated them,” said junior varsity cheerleader Krystal Soltani. “I thought it was a great experience.”

With that, the football players faced off against Westmont High School. Students and parents alike

were squeezing their way onto the little space left on the bleachers, with plenty of people standing behind the bleachers or sitting on the ground at the bottom.

Bubbly shouts of “V, V-I, V-I-C-T-OR-Y!” were emanating from the cheerleaders. Even people who weren’t at the game knew what was going on—a few who lived nearby could tell what

happened just based on the volume of the screams coming from the stands.

The night began with a victory for JV, but ended with a 26-20 loss by varsity. However, students danced with just as much energy at the dance on Saturday night- regardless of the lights being on.

Batmazian sums it up: “It is personally one of my favorite events all year, and I c a n’t wait until next year’s!”

Photos by Sadie Williams

Around the World in 5 Days, the Homecoming theme for the week. Monday- Mr. Rushmore, Tuesday Great Barrier Reef, Wednesday- Greece, Thursday- Class breakdown (Freshmen: Southwest Airlines, Sophomores: Safari Airlines, Juniors: Olympic Airlines, Seniors: Royal Airlines) & Friday- Class colors (Freshmen: white, Sophomores: yellow/gold, Juniors: green, Seniors: Black)

Editors-in-Chief Marissa Rodriguez, Kylie Brown Section Editors News: Brianna Houston Opinion: Caitlyn Nurnberg Features: Amanda Cendejas Sports: Zachary Tatar Entertainment: Blayke Leach In-Depth: Nanxi Tang Visuals Editor Kylie Brown Online Editors Nanxi Tang, Christopher Wyman Business Managers Christopher Wyman, Nathan Keenan, Jeannie Ceglar Copy Editor Nicole Hamilton Staff Writers Rajashree Bahttacharya, Kylie Brown, Jeannie Ceglar, Amanda Cendejas, Mikayla Druhan, Matthew Duell, Nicollette Eilia, Michelle Fitzsimmons, Dominic Guidry, Tiffany Ha, Nicole Hamilton, Sean Hiller, Brianna Houston, Katrina Jabbari, Jinny Jung, Nathan Keenan Blayke Leach, Katherine MacQuarrie, Alassandra Marquez, 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, Dominic Guidry, Tiffany Ha, Sean Hiller, Katrina Jabbari, Katherine MacQuarrie, Alassandra Marquez, 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 Rajashree Bhattacharya, Mikayla Druhan, Jinny Jung, Anna Schwarz, Sadie Williams, Kendra Wood, Nikita Zakladnyi Online Staff Matthew Duell, Michael Rea, 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, Well hello there! For those of you returning Longhorns, you might have noticed a few changes on the pages of The Eleight this month. With a new school year comes new Editors-in-Chief, and we’re very excited to show you our first edition of the year! Along with changes in the paper, we also have brand new website (www.theeleight.org) that we’d love for you to check out! As the weather cools down, so does the stress of the new school year. We’d love to hear your opinions, ideas for stories, or see any cool pictures you’ve taken lately. Feel free to submit anything to our email (the_eleight@yahoo.com) and we might put it on our website. (With credit to you, of course!)

Now that Homecoming stress has come and gone, we encourage you to sit back, relax, and enjoy our October edition.

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

Senior Royalty Get to know your 2011 Homecoming Court a little better Dominic Guidry Staff Writer

ing King, though he is still shocked he made it this far.

After the popping sound of balNicollette Eilia loons and hearing his name, HomeStaff Writer coming nominee Taylor Shapiro ex “I was thrilled, nervous, uncomclaimed, “YES!” Shapiro made his way fortable, and hungry,” said senior Zoe to the group of fellow nominees. He described his high school experience Demertzis when asked how she felt so far as crazy, stressful, fun, and amazwhen she found out that she had made ing, and this year is definitely the most top ten for homecoming court. Defun for Taylor. “I never saw myself on mertzis will also be going all out on the Homecoming court until a couple days spirit days throughout homecoming before we voted. I’m pumped because week. now I know at “Not seeleast a couple ing anybody of people like dressed up me enough to isn’t any vote for me.” fun,” says Shapiro conDemertzis. cludes that he Demertzis can definitely never really see himself as pictured herKing because self being on it was made homecomfor him, and ing court. crowns look

“There really good on was Lizzie him.

McGuire to

“ I be watched,” never imagsaid Deined myself as mertzis.

Homecoming

When Queen because asked to sum Photo courtesy of Tim Yankey it has never up her high The Homecoming court pictured together at halftime of the Homecoming game been my goal school expeafter Trevor Peterson and Kelly Phillips were crowned King and Queen. or anything; in rience in five the end it’s rewords or less, Demertzis responded saying that it was Baker. His main focus isn’t necessarily ally just a label and the fame is fleetwinning homecoming king but more ing”, said Homecoming Nominee Ka“nothing to complain about.”

Kelly Phillips was super ex- just getting to know the other nomi- tie MacQuarrie. MacQuarrie enjoys cited to find out that she had made it nees as well as being a positive role everyone on the court as they are all a on to the homecoming court, but even model. Baker’s first impression of the great group of people. Her overall asas a child she had never really pictured homecoming court was, “They are all sumption of Homecoming Court is it’s really good looking as well as really based on popularity because everyone herself as homecoming queen.

“The only time I had heard about nice people.” He also plans to be going votes on their favorite, but at the same Homecoming king and time the things students queen was in movies, do and are involved in are and I never pictured what make them popular. myself being like them,” Throughout her stressful, said Phillips. Phillips hectic, fun, challenging and claims that high school memorable experience in could be described as high school, she is extremely being “the best time thankful for everything. of my life!” Phillips

“I was so excited!” believes that being a said Homecoming nominee part of Homecoming Rachel Yankey when deis about being wellscribing how she felt when rounded and involved. she found out the good

“If you make a news. Yankey was always name for yourself in told she was going to be on high school then you’ve Homecoming Court mainly got a good chance of because her sister was on it making it on the court,” as well, but she herself has says Phillips. never seen herself on the

Although he norcourt or as queen. She takes mally doesn’t dress up this fun and crazy year with for spirit days, you will the utmost importance, be seeing Homecoming although her senior-itus is court nominee Trevor “Creeping in slowly”. She enjoys her experience with Peterson dressing up the rest of the court and throughout Homecomsaid, “They are so much fun! ing week. When asked I don’t really care if I get to describe his high Photo courtesy of Tim Yankey Homecoming Queen. I’m school experience, PeSenior Rachel Yankey poses for the camera after the King just happy I have the opporterson said it was “an and Queen coronation ceremony on Oct. 21. tunity to enjoy this.” adventure.” When find “I am so exciting out that he was on ed to be on the court. It really is an homecoming court Peterson said he all out on the spirit days throughout honor.” said nominee Danny Davis. “felt honored.”

And although Peterson feels hon- Homecoming week.

Davis describes homecoming as a mix Either grabbing his stretchy neck between a Popularity competition and ored to be on the homecoming court, “It’s not that big of a deal to me. It skin or a controller to a video game a contest of well-rounded students. He would be fun to win, but I’m not going with a mild case of Senior-itis, Home- has never imagined himself on Homecoming nominee Calvin Cotton coming Court before and can’t think of to stress over it.”

“I was never expecting it, and takes this year especially seriously. Cot- himself as Homecoming King. Davis it’s a huge honor to be voted in by my ton ranks this year as his hardest and takes on volleyball and Leighdership as peers,” said Homecoming court nomi- most fun; in particular, he loves being his main activities.

“I basically spend most of my life nee, Emma Canepa. “I think court on the court. Cotton remarks of his fel- is more based on well-rounded and in- low Top Ten nominees, “You couldn’t at Leigh,” said Davis. If he could have have a better group of students to rep- any pet it would be the pet he already volved students.”

Canepa says that her high school resent the school in my opinion. They owns, Magnum, his pet fish Rachel experience was amazing and that she are all great guys and gals.” Cotton can and Megan gave him, “I’m scared of all wouldn’t change anything about it. see himself as equally as every other other animals…” said Davis.

Although Emma almost always dresses guy on top ten and as the Homecomup for spirit days she never really goes all out, but in the case of Homecoming she definitely will be going all out.

“I was in a state of disbelief and after it sunk in it was a good feeling,” said senior and homecoming court nominee, Broderick Baker when asked how he felt after finding out that he had made it on to the Homecoming Court. Baker had always wanted to be on Homecoming court, ever since his freshman year. “It looked like it would be a lot of fun to be on the court,” said

Behind the scenes of marching band Makena Volzing Staff Writer

Every Friday night at half time, in a span of about five to seven minutes, the Leigh High School marching band awakens the field in a medley of song.

But most of the audience is unaware of all the effort that goes into bringing the halftime shows alive.

Marching band shows are originally designed in April and May of the previous year.

“Basically, the marching band shows, unlike a musical or a play, doesn’t just buy a package show that is redone every year,” said band director Suzanne Royer, “You want to do something that’s an original creation…You have to create and write your own [show].”

From the moment the marching band revealed its 2011 theme of “Massacre at Glencoe”, the band students jumped right into practices and learning the drills, starting in the summer at band camp and then throughout the fall after school.

Band members are required to attend class period on B-days as well as after school practices from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. In addition, they must attend multiple “Super Saturdays” that run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

With so many hours dedicated to band practices, strict schedules are established to ensure productive preparation for performances.

“We normally meet down in the bowl, in our warm-up block, in sections. If you’re not in your spot when the drum major calls us to attention, you’re late and owe either laps or lunges,” said flutist Molly Coyne, “We form a visual block on the field…and do basic marching exercises. We take it one set at a time. Then [the marching] is

same move…everyone begins to get lazy and make mental errors,” said flutist Evie Tran.

But even with a few missed steps, the Leigh marching band still proves itself to be a strong competitor, ranking 14th on the west coast in the Western Band Director’s Association. While rigorous practices are a main contributor to this success, what keeps the band functioning so well is teamwork.

“We are like family,” said Tran, “We spend so much time together, and there are sometimes fights, but everything always works out in the end. I know I always have my section on my side if I ever need them.”

Although Leigh has shown its capability as a competing marching band, winning competitions is not the top priority of the program.

“That’s what I really enjoy most about photo by Kylie Brown it: that I’m putting out put with the show music. For the rest stronger people. They come through of practice we run the different parts of the program and leave better, stronger, the show.” more enlightened human beings,” said

With all the time and energy Royer. spent on practices, it can make it dif- The Leigh High School marching ficult to manage a social and school life band performs at every home football alongside band. game at half time and had its first com “I honestly don’t sleep,” said petition in Cupertino on Oct. 8. So, Coyne, “On average, I sleep five hours when you watch the marching band, a night and a nap after school when I remember that none of that perforcan. With…homework, flute lessons, mance would have been accomplished and friends, I need to take advantage if not for a well-disciplined and dediof every minute I have.” cated group of students and instruc “It’s mostly mental exhaustion tors. that slows us down, after hours of the

Tackling college applications Marissa Rondriguez Editor-in-Chief

but it should have the skeleton of your final essay in it. Your final essay should be one that is free of grammatical er College applications are, no rors, flows well, and really shows who doubt, one of the worst parts about beyou are! Talk about something that is ing a senior. It’s a major source of stress important to you and that you are pasduring the last year of high school, sionate about! and is the one thing that everyone has

Make sure to ask for teacher recsomething to say about. ommendation letters (if required) AT

But let’s not make this more LEAST two weeks early! That gives complicated than it has to be. Everythem time to write a sufbody makes a big ficient essay where they deal out of colcan really elaborate on lege applications, what kind of person you but if you’re one are and write an eloquent of those people essay. When they finish who wait till the your essay, thank them for last possible mintaking the time to write ute to start your you a recommendation essay and end up letter! submitting your

Look into the first draft while statistics of the average the server crashaccepted students of the es, uh…good schools you want to get luck! College apinto. If you feel that your plications can be SAT/ACT score is off par, simple, with the you might want to conright amount of sider retaking it. The ACT time and the least has an optional essay (but amount of promost colleges require you crastination.

Photo by Marissa Rodriguez take it!), a science, math,

First step in applying to col- Hitting the books will spare you some stress come application time. English, and reading porleges is….choosing colleges! Just take To apply to privates, you will tion! Figure out which test is best for Ultimately, don’t stress out an hour out of your day for a week to probably use the Common Applica- you. research colleges. You’ll want to con- tion. And for UC/CSU, you’ll have to too much. An acceptance or rejection sider how this college fits into your make a separate account. Some privates doesn’t define who you are. Colleges lifestyle, the city/area it’s in (do you choose not to follow Common Appli- are asking you to do the near-imposwant to stay in state? Or get far away cation (though most do), but for those, sible: fit 17 well-lived years of life into from parents?), the major/college you’ll you’ll have to do your own investiga- 1000 words, a transcript, and a recombe applying to within the college, and tion and research! For privates, make mendation letter from someone whose how well the college fits you. This is sure to look into supplements, which known you for four years, maximum.

If after all this work, you don’t where you’ll be spending the next four are extra essays or questions that col- years of your life! leges may require you to answer to ap- get into your first choice college, here’s a piece of advice: College rejections are

You divide your selected colleges ply into a certain area of study. into three groups: reach, target, and GET STARTED ON YOUR a lot like relationships- why would you safety schools. Reach schools are those ESSAYS EARLY! You’re going to want spend time pining over the ones that where your SAT/ACT scores as well as multiple drafts and edits on it. Your reject you when there’s so many more your GPA ranking are in the bottom first draft should be far from perfect, out there? half of admitted students. Your target schools are those where your statistics are in the top half of admitted students. Your safety schools should be ones where you well surpass the expectations of the school and you’re basically guaranteed in. Make a list of your extracurriculars and things you’ve done in high school that you’ll want to mention on your application.

Pregnant Athletes, Romantic Snake Dinners, and Darth Vader regardless of their situation.

In other bizarre news, on October 18 in the city of Sacramento (Sac-Town to all my homies out there) California, David Senk, a 54-year old male was reported to have barbarically taken, not just one, but two MAN sized bites out of a cuddlesome and delightful python snake. Senk was arrested on suspicion of “unlawfully maiming or mutilating a reptile,” and booked on $10,000 bail.

What did the blonde say to her doctor when he told her she was pregnant?

She asked, “Is it mine?”

I am sure Amber Miller, a Chicago-born and nearly 9-month pregnant mother who had started feeling contractions just minutes after completing a 26.2-mile race on Oct.10 had a slightly different response to her abrupt stages of early childbirth.

The suburban Chicago woman, who slaved her way through 26.2 miles of agony while experiencing the wonderful side effects of her baby-to-be, including, but not limited to: abdominal cramps, mild to severe back pain, congested nose, bloating, heartburn, increased headaches, swelling of the joints, joint pain, exhaustion, extreme hair loss, shortness of breath, and an overall discomfort while nearly 39 weeks pregnant.

To my surprise, Miller bore a perfectly healthy baby girl that night, who she named June, weighing in at a whopping 9 pounds 14 ounces. The hurt and sadness that I had experienced while watching ‘The Notebook’ for the first time had reentered into the gates of my life once again after hearing that June, Amber’s daughter, may experience learning or health defects later on in life. A single tear began to slide slowly and softly down my left cheek.

You don’t need to be a doctor to recognize that bobbing and bouncing your baby around while running for 6 hours straight probably isn’t the greatest thing to do to pump yourself up for giving birth, or the most beneficial thing to do for your baby’s health. After a day of being flustered and mad with this woman who chose to gamble away her baby’s health and future, I began to recognize how extraordinary of an athlete and runner she is.

Truly, Michael Jordan’s average of 30.1 points per game, Jerry Rice’s 205 touchdowns, Barry Bond’s 762 homeruns, and Tiger Wood’s 16 World Golf Championships just doesn’t seem as great as running 26.2 miles while being on the verge of labor to me (opinion may vary).

It would truly make my day to see Amber in mid-run on the label of my Gatorade or on the cover of my box of Wheaties rather than seeing Tiger Wood’s dejected face all over my protein bars and energy drinks.

To conclude, regardless of me being initially upset with Amber Miller for potentially scarring her baby for life, our hopeless society needs more dedicated and driven people who will push through the turmoil and struggles to persevere and stick it out to the end

First off, as I see it, this man should be pampered and paraded through the streets of Sacramento atop an extravagant Disney float handcrafted by the finest and most prestigious float-makers of our day while being spoon-fed the new Captain Crunch Frappuccino from Starbucks.

David should not be shunned as fast as Britney Spears was after she deliberately shaved her beautiful blonde locks off, and exposed her vast and delightful scalp to the cruel and unforgiving world.

Instead, David Senk should be embraced and given the key to the city for his good and compassionate intentions to eliminate such a deadly and treacherous snake from the community of Sacramento.

To conclude, I’m sure there is a very valid and legitimate reason as to why David Senk decided to sssssssssssnack on a snake rather than staying home and watching another zesty and voluptuous episode of Jersey Shore like any normal person.

Perhaps it was David’s last night before becoming a vegetarian, or perhaps it was something on his bucket list that he can now joyously and contently cross off. The truth is, we just don’t know, and probably never will know… until his trial, which is scheduled to take place next month sometime.

To conclude my lineup of strange and unimportant news, a man dressed as a Star Wars villain, Darth Vader, robbed a Chase bank in Setauket, New York on Wednesday, October 12.

First off, I would just like to say “kudos” to you Vader, for throwing yourself out there to the cruel and relentless world without your light saber OR inhaler.

I applaud you, because robbing a bank takes a lot of backbone and courage, especially with Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi lurking around every corner of the crime-infested streets of New York looking for desperate and low-life scuzzbags like yourself, Mr. Vader.

Secondly, I hope you thanked your mother for constructing that exquisite and charming Darth Vader costume while you participated in the first Wii Sport Olympic team in the basement of your parent’s house.

Be satisfied in the knowledge that your groin pulls will only ever be virtual, Vader.

To wrap up, I think that robbing a bank is a pretty pitiful and scummy thing to do, and I hope justice will find you in your nerd cove and rain down on you like no other.

Next time I suggest you put your mind over Matt-er and check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Just Another All hail the King and Queen English Lesson Kendra Wood Staff Writer

It Goes On

Let’s talk about “The Scarlet Letter”.

Now, don’t let that sentence turn you off…I promise this won’t be a lecture about the book. Yes, Hawthorne’s excessive verbiage and descriptive tangents about flowers and prison doors drive most of us crazy--this is a given-but there happens to be a much deeper meaning. And no, it isn’t “don’t commit adultery” or “sin is bad”. In fact, “The Scarlet Letter” has a lesson that all high schoolers should learn: judgment is just a waste.

Oh, don’t act so appalled. We all judge others…even the best of us. Sometimes involuntary thoughts just creep into our minds, whether it’s mentally criticizing the girl with the bad hair day or the boy who runs slowly in PE. We can’t help it. It’s simply human nature. But the actions that follow these thoughts are where the trouble starts.

If you haven’t read “The Scarlet Letter” or aren’t in the eleventh grade or above, let me fill you in: Hester Prynne has an affair with this reverend guy named Dimmesdale, has a kid, and is forced to wear a scarlet ‘A’ so all the town knows she is an adulterer.

Throughout the book, the Puritans in Hester’s town label her only as a representation of sin rather than a person. Due to their persecution, Hester inevitably becomes bitter and isolated.

Now here’s the scandalous part: Dimmesdale’s identity as Hester’s lover remains hidden, which seems like he’s going to get off easy. But really, he’s literally getting sick from hiding his sin.

But he doesn’t confess his sin because he fears being judged and smirched by the Puritans as Hester is.

He doesn’t want to face rejection by his peers because of his mistake.

Maybe you didn’t know this, but we all are carrying our own scarlet letters around. Whether it’s embroidered on our shirts or hidden underneath layers, it’s still there. We all have committed acts we aren’t proud of and have had to suffer some sad consequences.

Name it, there is definitely something we’ve done that we just have to throw our hands up and say, “I screwed up”.

And know what? That’s okay to do. It’s okay to admit you were wrong.

It’s human even to make a mistake.

Shocking, I know. So why are we so afraid to be imperfect, and not only that, but announce it?

Because we don’t want others to reject us.

But why should other people judge us in the first place? Their judgment is only invalid because they themselves haven’t looked in the mirror and witnessed their own scarlet letter. People are quick to judge their peers because they don’t want to recognize their own faults. If we mock other people for their mistakes, maybe ours won’t be noticeable, right?

This cycle is dangerous, and it is time to kick its butt. All it takes to end it, though, is some self acceptance.

Go home, look in the mirror and tell yourself that it’s okay that you made a mistake. Tell yourself that it doesn’t make you any less of a good person to make one. Life wasn’t meant to have no imperfection, so embrace it already. Then realize when you look around and see others that they have their own baggage too. So don’t be so quick to judge them. Because judging others won’t keep you from being judged.

So unless you’re willing to sew a scarlet letter on your own wardrobe, don’t force others to do it. It’s not a good fashion statement anyways.

The Eleight: Homecoming King & Queen seemed like such a big deal to us as kids; did you ever imagine that it would be you someday?

Kelly Phillips: Homecoming king and queen was something I only saw or heard about in the movies; I never imagined that it could be me one day!

was no time to hang out with friends or spend time on school related things.

Weekends were also spent in the gym so that meant no football games, or even dances. In addition to that, my personality was much different my freshman year. I was extremely shy and didn’t branch out as much as I should have.

Once sophomore year came around, I became rather outgoing!

that I would never have gotten to inside the classroom. I love each and every one of them!

T.P.: Favorite part was doing the Homecoming Lipsync. Because I got to make fun of Katie a lot.

T.E.: Did you discover any kind of valuable advice or lesson throughout this process?

K.P.: I discovered that big events such as this bring out different sides in everyone, and the most important thing you can do is react in the best way possible, your reaction is everything and really shows who you are as a person. I believe it’s really important to be grateful for getting into the top 20, top 10, and especially king & queen.

It’s not something that anyone should ever expect, and I just want people to know how incredibly grateful I am that they voted to give me this honor.

Trevor Peterson: As a kid I knew it was a pretty big deal so I never saw myself as winning it in the future.

T.E.: They say it’s more of a popularity contest than anything else. Do you agree? Why or why not?

K.P.: It is a popularity contest, but not in the sense that everyone thinks. It’s about making a name for yourself within your student body and staying involved. Also reaching outside of your core group of friends and getting to know all types of students.

T.P.: I think it’s definitely a popularity contest, but at the same time people are going to vote for who they respect, which is why top 10 and top 20 had some awesome people.

Photo by Tim Yankey

Homecoming Queen and King smile for the cameras moments after they are crowned.

T.E.: Think back to freshman year. Do you think the results would have been the same? Why or why not?

K.P.: I don’t think the results would be the same freshman year. In 9th grade I was involved in one thing, acrobatic gymnastics, and I spent almost all of my time with it. Nearly every week night was spent in the gym, so there

T.P.: The results definitely would not have been the same. I was kinda shy and not as outgoing as I am now. I would probably get like 3 votes.

T.E.: What was your favorite part of being on the Homecoming court?

K.P.: Hands down, favorite part of homecoming court was getting to know the rest of the court, to a level

T.P.: Mainly that it’s important to stay humble and gracious for being chosen. I was very honored that all the students voted for me to be king.

T.E.: Waiting for top 20, top 10, then the final choice to be announced, what were your feelings and how did the level of anxiousness change?

K.P.: The level of anxiousness got lower and lower each time! Being nominated at first was something I really wanted, but throughout the whole experience, it became less about the title and more about the honor of being there in the first place, regardless of the results. I was a happy camper from the start.

T.P.: When top 20 came out I was pretty surprised and didn’t think I would make top 10. And then when it was time to announce I was just happy to be there. I guess people like me more than I thought.

T.E.: Do you feel like you’ve accomplished something that will make an impact on your life? Or is this just a confidence booster for you?

K.P.: It’s definitely a confidence booster, but I like to think that I accomplished something! By that I mean staying involved and motivated to do my best in every aspect during my short 4 years here!

T.P.: It’s just a confidence booster really. I know that I accomplished some things, but really its a booster more than anything.

T.E.: How do you think the planning for all the events and reveals throughout the Homecoming process went? What would you have liked to have added?

K.P.: The planning of all the events during this process was phenomenal, coronation and leadership and the reveal committee I thank you all so much I would not have changed a thing!

T.P.: Everything was perfect thanks to coronation and leadership. I wouldn’t change a thing.

via college.gov

via mayoclinic.com

Students’ struggles to manage their time is frequently caused by procrastination.

Learn the biological factors that cause procrastination—and how to defeat them.

Photo credit to Ben Revzin, Isabel Haggerty, Annie Jung In-depth designed by Jocelyn Shyong, Nanxi Tang, Kylie Brown, Marissa Rodriguez

via realsimple.com

-Amy Spencer There’s no more elegant example of the cyclical self-torture of procrastination than the lyrics to a song from the musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Our hero has a book report due. He sings in a halting, panicky monotone: “If I start writing now, when I’m not really rested, it could upset my thinking, which is not good at all. I’ll get a fresh start tomorrow, and it’s not due till Wednesday so I’ll have all of Tuesday unless something should happen...Why does this always happen? I should be outside playing, getting fresh air and sunshine. I work best under pressure and there’ll be lots of pressure if I wait till tomorrow. I should start writing now but if I start writing now when I’m not really rested, it could upset my thinking, which is not good at all.”

Ring a bell? It’s a monologue we all experience in some form, an agonizing internal conversation that fells the best of us. And that’s where things start to get interesting: Procrastination is so relatable, so universal, because the human brain, it turns out, is wired for it. Science explains Charlie Brown’s seesaw sensibility as a fight that is sparked between two parts of the mind when it’s faced with a distasteful activity: a battle of the limbic system (the unconscious zone that includes the pleasure center) and the prefrontal cortex (the internal “planner”). When the limbic system wins, and that’s pretty often, the result is putting off for tomorrow what could (and should) be done today.

Here’s a bit more scientific backup, so you can stop blaming yourself (or your parents, your birth sign, the weather) and start chalking up procrastination to biology. The limbic system, one of the oldest and most dominant portions of the brain, is on automatic. It tells you to, say, pull your hand away from a flame—and also to flee from unpleasant tasks. In other words, it directs you to opt for “immediate mood repair,” explains Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Carleton University.

The prefrontal cortex is a newer and weaker portion of the brain. It’s what allows you to integrate information and make decisions. “This is the part of the brain that really separates humans from animals, who are just controlled by stimulus,” says Pychyl. The prefrontal cortex, located immediately behind the forehead (where we tap when we’re trying to think, dammit, think), gets the job done.

But there’s nothing automatic about its function. You must kick it into gear (“I have to sit down and write this book report!”). And the moment you’re not consciously engaged in a task, your limbic system takes over. You give in to what feels good—you procrastinate.

While understanding these mind games demystifies our habit of perpetually postponing stuff, it doesn’t cure the habit. The solution for procrastination is outsmarting it: You can trick yourself into productivity. How? Use anti-procrastination techniques that will fix the fight between the just-do-it angel and the pleasure-hungry devil in your head. No need to pick just one tactic. Have them all in your arsenal so you’re ready to handle whatever obstacle your battling brain might toss in your path.

October 2011 The key to good grades— do your homework.

Have confidence in yourself.

Make a carefully considered decision about what to commit your time to. Quality, not quantity, is what matters.

Take time to relax and listen to music or play games or whatever you do after long periods of homework; it helps increase focus and energy.

You have to get your priorities straight.

Don’t take on more than you can handle.

Identify the different requirements for each class, e.g., some classes are lecture-based and some classes are more interactive.

Focus on your passion.

Pr o c r a s t i n a tion is usually only worth it if it’s for sleep.

Stay organized.

Tips by Marko Vojvodic, Nanxi Tang, Jocelyn Shyong, Marissa Rodriguez

On test days, be relaxed.

Don’t stress or freak out, you’ll do worse.

Instead of wasting time agonizing and procrastinating, just do it!

Take advantage of small intervals of time, e.g. between classes,to accomplish something.

Make a schedule, and stick to it.

Get enough sleep; don’t go to bed late.

If you really have too much to handle, recognize which tasks are the most important and which can be put off until another day.

Oft-dismissed “good night’s sleep”has its benefits Sleep is a very important factor in our everyday lives. We’ve all had the occasional late nights and seen the obvious effect that it has on us the following day. Not getting a sufficient amount of sleep can lead to a lack of focus and concentration, inability to pay attention in class, falling asleep at school, and overall negative, short-tempered behavior throughout the day.

But on the other end of the spectrum, sometimes we’ll get an adequate amount of sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, an “adequate” amount is a recommended 8-9 hours a night. When we are well rested, we wake up feeling energized and will go into the day with a positive attitude and able to stay focused throughout.

Unfortunately however, only about 15% of teens get the recommended 8-9 hours of sleep. Studies have shown that about 20% of adolescents fall asleep in class daily.

“Almost all teen-agers, as they reach puberty, become walking zombies because they are getting far too little sleep,” said Cornell University psychologist James B. Maas, one of the nation’s leading sleep experts. Even so, sleeping is often regarded as a last priority for many high school students. Between homework and social activities, sleep is simply last on the list.

Learning a balancing act There just isn’t enough time in a day for the average high school student. Waking up in the morning is a challenge in and of itself; then add homework assignments, hours spent on extra-curricular activities, and the all-too-often necessary all-nighters.

Free time seems like a far, distant dream.

Social life? Friends? What’s that?

Most students question if adequate sleep, good grades, and a social life are even achievable.

“I think it’s hard to manage all three because some students don’t have a good way of managing stress. Stress is inevitable,” said senior Mike Kim. If it’s possible to balance all three, then why have so many of us decided that we are forced between all three aspirations?

“We live in a busy world that’s fast paced and time consuming. Achieving all three can be done: I hang out with friends, I’m in all honors classes, and I have good grades.

My family helps keep me focused,” said sophomore Kristen Haserot.

With so little time on our hands, we have trouble managing our priorities. We ask ourselves what is more important, and we force ourselves to pick and choose. But the bottom line is that we don’t realize how important time management really is.

“Time management helps; I don’t watch television because I prioritize. You have to be focused,” said sophomore class president Josh Applebaum.

Ultimately, learning to prioritize your time and manage your activities is a necessary skill for success.

AP Stats Chp. 4

Made by Paulina Luckiewicz

via National Sleep Foundation

-60% of students say that grades and a social life matter more to them then sleep -64% of students believe that it is possible to achieve all three goals -Average number of hours of sleep for a Leigh student is 6.3, for the general population is 8.5, and the adequate amount is 9.25 unt amo c (see graph) leigh students, population, adequate hours of sleep obtained

Complainers Anonymous Just Jab

By Katrina Jabbari

The teacher pops in an educational video during class. Predictably, the room fills with mumbled complaints. Things like, “This is so pointless”, “Kill me now”, “This is why I hate this class”, radiated throughout the classroom.

somewhat lacking educational systems.

With teachers there to help us every single day, the internet, and the privileges we are given, we have all the tools and capabilities to achieve incredible things.

The idea itself is a little cliché, but how often do we actually stop to think about it? We all know that the direction of our lives truly depends on our education, but do we ever stop to think about the opportunities we are

So, naturally, instead of spend- given, in comparison to many of the ing the following time watching the truly unfortunate around the world? video, I spent that time thinking.

I read a book recently titled “Say

Initially, my thoughts about You’re One of Them”, by Uwem Akwatching this video were just about pan. The novel is a series of true stories the same as the majority of the class- about a variety of people in different room. I expected that I would find regions of Africa. The first story remyself hardly escaping the urge to ally struck me as significant when sleep. I expected that I’d find myself pondering the subject of education. resting my head on that hard speckled The story was of an impoverished desktop I’d become so familiar with, courtesy of three years of stale edu- family living in a hut. The parents lived cational videos, the most recent ones a day to day struggle to provide for probably being from the early 90’s. their children. They worked endlessly in an attempt to send one of five chil

Instead, I connected this series of dren to school, in hopes he wouldn’t events to form a question. Why do we, share the same destiny as his parentsas high school students, complain so poor and uneducated.

In order to do so, their 12 year much about school? Why do we com- plain so much about something that old daughter was a prostitute. She sacrificed herself every night, and our life essentially revolves around? she would come home and give what

High school can be tough, the little income she made to pay for a people in it can be cruel, and the work- uniform and supplies for the young load can be a little much. Staring at boy who was trying to go to school. your computer at midnight attemptThis barely scratches the surface ing to write a report that’s due the next day that you should’ve done about a on the extremes that some people month ago, is a situation many of us must endure in order to get minimal, have become a little too familiar with. preliminary schooling. We can’t even begin to feel what these people feel,

To say that your average high because chances are, most of us have school student is stressed is a bit of an come close to even somewhat experiencing what some of these people have understatement. to go through.

Nonetheless, with a little bit While we complain about wakof effort, it’s all manageable. In the end we know it will all be worth it. ing up at 7 in the morning, having to stay up late to finish homework

Yet many of us still complain (usually because we procrastinated), like there’s no tomorrow. It’s com- and watching an educational video, mon logic that complaining gets we fail to realize that some peoyou absolutely nowhere, so why do ple would kill to be in our shoes. we do it? Some of us crave sympaEverybody complains; we’re thy, and others simply need to vent. only human. Correction: We’re

Popular high school venting only teenagers. There’s nothing techniques include- but are not lim- wrong with venting when stressed. ited to- any of the following: rants However, instead of taking our on Facebook about the ridiculous amount of homework given and the education for granted, we should learn limited time in which we have to to embrace the struggles. In the end, it complete it, verbal rants that we force is all for our own benefit. our friends to listen to, and rant- So the next time you catch ing via the one and only, ironically trending hipster-esque blog; Tumblr. yourself on the verge of a complaint or two, try a new approach and in

But rarely do we think about the words of artist Robert Cook, the educational opportunities that “Say and do something positive that we are given are unreal, even with will help the situation; because it the constant dispute over California’s doesn’t take any brains to complain.”

If you know me at all, you’re probably aware that I question nearly everything, and in my mind, there is no such thing as over-analyzation.

Does popularity Homecoming:

rule the school?

Nathan Keenan Staff Writer

Themes have just been announced, outfits are being made, and tension is high to see who the Homecoming Court is. The surprise is unseen as some of Leigh’s most well known seniors run out in front of the crowd. Homecoming is a popularity contest, but isn’t that already known?

The title of Homecoming King and Queen does not hold any responsibility per say, but it is a way to raise school spirit and crown two seniors to lead their year in a blaze of glory and loud noises. It seems to be common knowledge that Leigh’s biggest and baddest seniors get nominated for the honor; and unlike Class President, there are no requirements that are needed to fulfil any real duties.

That is not saying Homecoming is unimportant. The event raises school morale and allows the students to dress up in accordance to the

Photo courtesy of Tom Yankey

The 2010 Homecoming court looks on during a lunch time rally.

unique theme each year. But the highlight is the crowning of Homecoming King and Queen, and honor bestowed upon two seniors based upon “popular vote.” But there are some that feel it is not just the top dogs that get elected to court.

“I feel like the homecoming court is mostly a popularity contest.

However this years court does have some quieter people in it which I think is nice because they get there chance to shine in the spotlight as well. I believe that just because you don’t feel completely comfortable to be loud in front of the student body and get noticed, you can still make it onto Homecoming Court.” says Junior Dominique Clements. Clements is in Leadership and her insight into the topic of popularity shows that maybe Homecoming is more than a popularity contest.

There is a chance for people at Leigh who don’t get as much exposure as others to be put in the limelight.

This is one of the most important reasons Homecoming is so popular, seeing people you might not know much about it a new perspective.

Homecoming means differPhoto by Danielle Baldelomar ent things for different people. Some 2010 Homecoming King and Queen Lauren Weber and Larry Donald could say it’s popularity that matsmile for the camera ter, others could say it’s just those who people want to see shine. But what’s important is that choice lies directly in the hands of the senior class.

They elect who they want to represent them in the glorious week that Homecoming encompasses.

It’s impossible to know what every person thinks when choosing the Homecoming Court, but they do seem have a similar pattern over the year. The unveiling is usually not much of surprise, because people know the most popular would make it. The fact that it is not very shocking shows that people expect these nominations to be based on who is most liked.

There is no problem with having a popularity contest run Homecoming; in fact, it’s tradition. The biggest and baddest Seniors get to be crowned and treated like royalty, at least for one dance.

Homecoming raises school spirit and gives the students a reason to be excited for the Photo by Chris Banuelos coming year, and self elected Homecoming King and Queen Tony Santana and Angela Santoro from 2007 after leaders show that the students getting crowned smile for the camera. still do run Leigh.

Wristbands: Leigh’s personal handcuffs

Leigh students feel restricted with the tough rules when it comes to ‘freaking’ at dances

Photo

by

Mikayla

Druhan

Freshmen gather in a circle at the Homecoming dance, trying to stay mindful of the strict rules being enforced.

We’ve all heard the reminders time and time again. No freaking allowed. Dance appropriately. Use your best judgment and discretion. Dance like you would in front of your grandma.

We’ve all heard of the 45 degrees rule, too. But hey, this isn’t math class.

So are they really going take out protractors and carefully measure each and every one of us?

In our school planner, the administration attempts to clearly convey its tolerance, or in this case, the lack thereof, for our “inappropriate dancing styles.” “Dance styles which are provocative or offensive to the adult chaperone are not allowed and students who insist on dancing in this manner will be removed from the dance and

denied the privilege of attending future dances”. What they are clearly referring to, is the relatively recent dancing phenomenon that has spread across American high schools known as grinding, or more colloquially, freaking.

If you’ve ever been to a dance at Leigh, it’s clear that Leigh is just another high school that has succumbed to the pulls of such provocative dancing styles. Last year, however, a new dance policy involving wristbands was implemented at Leigh. Students entered with a wristband and if were found dancing inappropriately, got it cut off.

The second time around, students were sent out.

“So many people complained about freaking, students complained, so we did what a lot of schools do.

Still, the complaints are about two to one, with twice as many people saying

that we need to have a harsher dance policy,” said dean Pam Hoult.

However, not surprisingly, the many Leigh students express the opposing opinion.

“I think people should be allowed to dance how they want to dance...[But] I can understand why the admin is so strict about our dancing because ...some of it isn’t entirely appropriate.” said junior, Tara Feria.

“I do think that the dancing is appropriate but to a point. Let kids be kids. It’s high school!” said Stephanie Mcdowell

It’s high school, and what’s the point of dances, except well, to dance?

Nobody’s holding you at gunpoint to attend, or even to dance. Everybody has a choice whether to dance or not – if you don’t want to, then apply common sense: just say no!

Katherine MacQuarrie Staff Writer

no longer happy but disturbed. Please

know (or do know, for that matter) grope and lick and stroke each other on school campus.

In our student planner it is clearly stated on page 7 under “Inappropriate Displays of Affection”, “Mature individuals do not display their affection for one another in public. A simple hug or “peck on the cheek” is an appropriate display of warmth and friendship; “making out” is not. We ask that students not embarrass themselves, their boy/ girlfriend or others around them by saving their affections for a private time.”

Well , there you have it folks. Save your necking for a later date.

A majority of us don’t Photo by Jinny Jung want to be at school as it is, so please don’t make it any harder on us.

Nanxi Tang In-Depth/Online Editor

Love is in the air at Leigh

Love is in the air at Leigh High School. New relationships are blooming and sparks are flying.

We are young, so naive infatuation and hormonal impulses are hard to ignore and I guess I can understand that. But is this something students really need to share with the entire student body of Leigh High School?

Surely it would be more appropriate to find a private place to express that attraction toward each other.

Sure, everyone has the right to express themselves.

This is not a matter of who’s with who, rather a matter of whether or not making out in front of peers is completely necessary.

We are happy for you. We are happy that you found someone to spend lunch with.

Someone to revolve Two seniors display their affection for one another. your high school drama around. Someone to take away all notice that everyone is avoiding walkyour young freedom. But personally, ing by you because it’s extremely unthe second most see tongue, they are comfortable to watch people you don’t

So it begins...

Senior year. Here it goes. Aug. 25 marked the beginning of the end of my high school career and my “childhood.” 2011 is the last year I’ll have before I’m an adult…

AGH. I can’t stand to see the word “adult” in print when it applies to me. Me, an adult? It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t know what I want to be when I’m older or where I want to live, I don’t know where I want to go to college, I don’t even know what I want to major or minor in!

I was going to make this column about clichés and/or quotes, but then I decided this would be much more comical- ranting about the things that are on my mind always seem funny to outsiders because my thinking process is so ridiculous.

You see, I’m what you would call an over-analyst. I over-analyze everything- every situation, person, event, outcome, quote, action. I can’t help it. I used to blame it on being an emotional teenage girl, but I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m just absolutely insane. And I’m happy with that.

I put way too much on my plate but I love everything I do, so I guess there’s no helping that. I’m in leadership, link crew, SOS, CSF, and journalism. Outside of school, I have a full-time boyfriend and part-time job.

Homecoming week was the deadliest of all school weeks. I may only have five classes, but when you have to make seven hundred homecoming posters, plan lunchtime rallies, practice for lip sync, meet deadlines for your journalism article and column, and plan for the ordering of senior sweatshirts and prom for your class, stress tends to get the best of you.

But you know what? I wouldn’t trade any of this for the world. I’ve made the best of my high school career as far as I’m concerned. My freshman year was okay, but I always felt like something was missing.

When I joined leadership, I finally felt at home. I got involved in school and did better academically. I pushed myself to meet new people and try new things, and gained so much pride in my school. Being behind the scenes of a lot of the things that go on at Leigh has made me see how amazing our school really is.

I think that’s why I get so offended when people aren’t school-spirited.

I understand that some of the dress-up days are hard to participate in and that some things may seem “stupid”. But you know what? If you make the best out of the opportunities you’re given, all you’ll get in return are lasting laughs and memories.

We have such a great school. It excels in academics and athletics compared to almost any school in our area.

Our marching band is the absolute best and most talented in our district, no matter what anyone else says. And sometimes these things go unnoticed.

People only see Leigh for what it looks like on the outside.

So what, it hasn’t been remodeled since the 1960s? It gives it a historical feeling in my opinion. We’re the only school with a football bowl and it’s freaking legit. Our new quad looks bomb. See the things about our school that are positive.

We have some of the best students and opportunities at our school, but it’s up to you to make the best out of what you’re being given. Like the

Leigh vs. Branham game… can I just say I’m still obsessed with that game?

Seriously, the school spirit and morale during that week was priceless. I feel like Leigh united for the first time since I have been a student here that Friday night… and props to Robby Cabri for making his Ford Explorer into a longhorn and leading the caravan to Branham. You’re awesome.

One of my absolute favorite quotes is “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”

–Lou Holtz

Now this guy’s got life down to an art. If you’re having a terrible high school experience, that’s your fault whether you want to admit it to yourself or not. And if you’re having a great high school experience, congratulations. You’re awesome and make the best out of life. There should be more people like you.

Freshmen have four years to make Leigh great for them. Take pride in the school you’re at, guys. High school is what you make of it. The same goes for sophomores, who are awkwardly in the middle of being not-freshmen, yet notupperclassmen. Juniors need to make the best of this year to set the tone for their senior year. It all starts now.

And, as for my fellow seniors, this is our last year. I know that I blow up our “Class of 2012” facebook page like there’s no tomorrow, but I have good reasoning behind it. I want this year to be amazing and memorable. I know it can be, but it’s not just up to me. It’s up to you, too. I can plan prom and design sweatshirts and plan fundraisers with Jiwon and Shannon, but you guys are the ones who have to get excited and involved in everything going on. It’s your last year before you go off to college (or whatever you’re doing after high school). Although some of you may use this as an excuse not to care, my take on it is this: Why not make it the best year you’ve had in high school? This is the year we’ll share with our grandkids when we’re over the hill, the one we’ll have pictures of hung up on the walls in our homes years from now.

It’s time to make the best of this year. I’m gonna do it all- get involved in school, make bank, find my dream job, meet new people, apply to colleges (four down, only a few more to go!) and make the decision of where I want to go, plan the best prom Leigh’s ever seen, and most importantly... “I’m gonna live like it’s the end of the world.

2-0-1-2.” ;) Are you?

COME AT ME SENIOR YEAR.

(And lastly, this column is dedicated to Ryan Nguyen, a.k.a. Eggburnt, because I no-buttered.)

We all scream for ice cream!

Three Eleight staff members participate in an all out dairy challenge could stand: Everything But the Kitchen Sink. So we saddled up our steeds, loaded our pack mule, and made our way to the unknown land that was Walnut Creek. After many moons and various obstacles, we arrived at our destination.

There was a fire in our bellies that could only be quenched by dairy. We chose from a wide variety of different ice creams to devour, ranging from the heavy “On like Donkey Kong” to the seductive “Snickerdoodle”, and mixed

the towering death conceived let out a ferocious bellow, screaming from the mind of the dirty to the gods, “WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN US?!” ice cream ogre. Eight scoops The only soul brave enough to of cold fury stood in our way, Andrew Van Brunt towering in what was literally devour the cocoa bean madness was Staff Writer an old fashioned sink; we only I. I pecked at it like a vulture on its prey, over and over until it was no had one chance to take this Adam Soret more, and sucked the remains of beast down. We sat down, Staff Writer the creature dry. Finally, the beast tucked our hankies in our collars, took off our caps, grabbed was conquered, leaving the three

Do you like big scoops of ice two spoons each and swan competitors too food drunk to ride cream melting in your mouth? Well our stallions home. So I called up dove into the milky sea of no hang on to your noodle because the the only acquaintance I know that return.

FOOD CHALLENGE IS BACK! owns a horse trailer, Sadie Williams,

Soret was first to strike, Some challengers are spoon first. He went straight loaded up the mares, and began the new, some are old, all for the Mint Chocolate Chip, journey. are ready. Or so they Satisfied with the victory over his sweet tooth getting its fix. think. our ice cream troll nemesis, we sat Van Brunt came next, eating

My name is in quiet content. anything in his path, while Blayke Leach. Three doing everything in his power Our first battle was a success and hundred and sixty to avoid the evil death that was we welcome any more challenges five days ago I emthat you may have. Give us your the banana. I managed to atbarked on a expeditack the creamy monster from Andrew Van Brunt and Adam Soret devouring suggestions at www.theeleight.org. tion of grand proone side and put a nice dent the ice cream sundae. portion. My quest

At the same time, Soret could be into the abdomen of the fiend. was not an easy one.

The Eleight: 1

The ice cream just kept coming, heard from miles away with his yelps I set out to find and dripping and plopping to the tray be- of displeasure. He had been seduced Food Demons: 0 assemble the ultineath. The cold hit first, even before by the sweet temptress of mate team of hungry Food challenge participants before the challenge. the taste, freezing the innards of our all things Jamocha. He gentlefolk.

Photos by Sadie Williams esophagus and sending shivers down danced with her sweet

After scouring the grottoes of Malaysia, scuba diving with pounds of fudge, whipped cream, our spines. Next came the brain freeze, caramel swirls and caacting as the iceberg that sank the Ti- ressed the cookie dough to the darkest, smelliest depths of the and three whole bananas. embedded within. But tantic (too soon?). ocean, and repelling down the

Time seemed to then, just as soon as she face of Mt. Everest, I discovslow down to a freeze as our had arrived, she left, and ered two strapping young lads bodies were not too far be- he was left alone with with bellies capable of wonders hind. With nipples erect, we nothing but her memoyou can only dream of dreamate and ate, our bodies grow- ry. ing of.

The more we ate, ing more and more numb as After months of strenuthe seconds ticked by. All of a the sicker we got, until ous training and preparation, sudden, Van Brunt spewed a nothing was left except my recruits were ready. Iron substance more slippery than the looming doom of Belly Adam Soret and Little snot on a glass doorknob. chocolate. The “Choco Piglet Andrew Van Brunt took The banana slice ambushed Lovers” ice cream ravblood oaths to assist me in my his taste buds, which caused aged our every being. quest to consume all things a chain reaction of utter de- The mighty Little Piglet food. struction. The mess was a Soret turned to see Iron

The day finally came Andrew Van Brunt and Adam Soret admiring the ice distraction to everyone in the Belly Adam curled in a when an ice cream goblin cream sundae. restaurant, creating a hazardous ball mourning the loss from the San Francisco Creamery of his coffee maiden. He Result of the intensity of the ice cream.

Seconds later, we were faced with and dangerous eating environment. presented us with a challenge only we Blayke Leach Entertainment Editor

Christopher Wyman Business Manager/Online Editor

“The Abbey” in Santa Cruz

This month’s featured music scene is one of the area’s best-hidden venues: The Abbey. This coffee shop, which gets its name from the fact that it is attached to a church, is located just over the hill in Santa Cruz.

Right off of Highway 1 near the edge of UC Santa Cruz, the Abbey is a regular host to open mic nights, acoustic nights, and local performers.

Though it appears to be small on the outside, when you walk in, you will be amazed by the amount of seating space there is. While sitting on one of the many couches, bench pews, or tables, you can admire the work of local artists that they have on the walls.

The Abbey is a great place to go if you are looking for a laid back atmosphere to study, get some coffee, listen to music, or just hang out, and stays away from the generic feel of Starbucks. Though it is connected to a church, the music isn’t exclusively Christian, and the baristas make everyone feel welcome.

Overall, the Abbey breaks free from the Starbucks mold and brings together an eclectic group of people, artists, and musicians, and with events every weekend, chances are there is visual by Nikita Zakladnyi something that you’ll be interested in.

The Abbey 350 Mission Street Santa Cruz, California

Netflix hits the rewind button, reverts changes Netflix’s price change results in decrease in stock and a loss of customers

million, and 12 million subscribed to both. Instead the company is expecting 2.2 million with DVD, 9.8 streaming, and 12 million both.

After the recent mishandling of a

A near 13,000 posts bombarded price increase, Netflix again surprised Netflix’s Facebook and blog pages sugmillions of subscribers by first making gesting the video service was being a decision that had customers everygreedy and suggesting the loss of their where disgruntled, and then later rebusiness and that of othversing it. ers.

The rental com CEO Reed Hastpany known for the conings recognized the disapvenience of its system pointment at large. “Both planned on splitting off the Qwikster and Netflix into two separate comteams will work hard to repanies. One -- still holdgain your trust. We know ing the name “Netflix” it will not be overnight.

-- would offer the online Actions speak louder than streaming of movies and words. But words help exTV shows. The second plain actions.” one would go by the new

Finally, after their name “Qwikster” and gargantuan loss of busiwould offer the DVD ness, the company decided delivery service. it would be best to con “I thought this was form to what the public pretty dumb. I didn’t The Netflix headquarters, just outside Los Gatos. was begging for. even like Netflix in the first Photo by Nicole Hamilton would have raised prices 60 percent.

On Oct. 10, Netflix sent out yet place,” said freshman Galen Dregan.

“That’s really stupid because the another e-mail to its subscribers an The purpose of the company’s decision to split was in preparation for reason everyone likes Netflix is the nouncing, “for many of our members when watching movies from a disk is cheap prices and the delivery,” said se- two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netfno longer prevalent. Apparently this nior Lacey Collins.

Netflix’s stock value took a dive lix as one place to go for streaming and trend, according to Netflix’s adjust- of 53 percent, and they are expected to DVDs”. ments, is on it’s way out.

In hopes to quell a raging storm

“We remain convinced that the lose approximately one million more of clients, Netflix will return to their splitting of our services was the right subscribers than originally predicted.

On July 25, it was expected that original plan and stay as one company long-term strategic choice,” read the the DVD service would have 3 million with both online streaming and the mass e-mail to investors.

Though the company’s reasoning customers, streaming would have 10 DVD delivery service.

Sadie Williams Staff Writer

for changes was meant to be beneficial in easing transition from one media trend to the next, it displeased many of the video subscription service’s 24.6 million clients.

If customers had wanted to have both streaming and DVDs, they would have to pay for them separately. This

Paranormal Activity 3 Directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman Kylie Brown Editor-in-Chief

icks theflSPOILER ALERT

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CUS IM

Footloose Directed by Craig Brewer Brianna Houston News Editor

No dancing? Against the law?

What kind of town bans dancing?

And getting pulled over for listening to music in your car is “disturbing the peace”? Dean Pitchford, the author of 1984’s “Footloose” introduced viewers to a town such as this, known as Beaumont.

The town itself is quite conservative. After a long night of partying, dancing, and young, rebellious fun, five senior students of Beaumont High head home. At the peak of their night, unfortunately they’re all brutally killed in an accident just alongside the city limits on Crosby Bridge.

From then on, dancing and inappropriate music (according to town council) are to be banned altogether, that is, until Ren McCormack, played by Kevin Bacon in 1984 and Kenny Wormald in 2011, moves into town.

The recent version of the film introduces Ren, three years after the accident, moving into town to live with his uncle and his family. Little does he know, the town of Beaumont is very unlike his home in Boston.

Minor detailed changes were made between the original “Footloose” and the new “Footloose” to create a much more modern vibe for its new audience. Does it matter that the original Ren was from Chicago, and the new, from Boston? In simple terms, no, absolutely not. Both are from big cities in the Midwest and east coast that allow Ren to stand out and be perceived as the new smart-mouthed, witty, sar-

comprised of a man and woman whose names escape me have close encounters with the paranormal. The man in the relationship sets up cameras around the house to capture the bizarre coincidences on film. A Ouija board and a demon-posessed body later, one of the two main characters dies.

In my opinion, the movie held absolutely no suspense. This was due in part to most of the scenes dragging on for what felt like eons. In brief, it was boring.

Paranormal did not have much in the way of a plot.

I literally visual courtesy of screenrant.com began to fall asleep over the course of the movie, not to mention get nauseous from the shaky footage.

And then along came “Paranormal Activity 2” in 2010. Paranormal 2’s plot ties into the first one by introducing nondescript female lead A’s sister, nondescript female lead B. “Paranormal 2” is actually a prequel to Paranormal, and

castic kid, who doesn’t seem to fit in with these conservative country West Virginians. While the writers stuck with the bright yellow Volkswagen, the dances in the movie have been transformed quite a bit.

When Ren and Arielle Moore, his love interest, originally played by Lori Singer and now Julianne Hough, first meet, the characters now seem to have bigger personalities: not only their attitudes, but in their dancing, as well.

The scene begins in the parking lot of the town’s most “happenin’”

visual courtesy of

restaurant. In both, the managers are looking out for the kids’ best interest and providing them with a safe place to dance and have fun.

The new “Footloose” incorporates greater diversity in the actors and music choices. In the 1984 version, there are no black people. The 2011’s dance scene, however, opens with the music of David Banner, a well known hip-hop artist. Not only are different races integrated, but various styles of dance are displayed as well, providing the film with variety and intriguing rhythm, which the original does not have.

As Ren and Arielle show off their moves and compete for the spotlight,

is an account of mysterious on-goings with the second couples’ infant. “Paranormal 2” had some redeeming qualities, such as the cameras being set up in the fashion of security cameras, which saved me from nausea. Some of the scenes were somewhat praiseworthy, but “Paranormal 2” still ceased to impress.

Naturally, after two horrors of horror films, I had decidedly low expectations for “Paranormal Activity 3”, the latest installment of the Paranormal Activity series. It had an interesting first three minutes. The intro of the movie is the same as the second movie, in which the characters place a box full of old VHS tapes in the basement. The tapes are never viewed in “Paranormal 2”, so they are shown to the audience in “Paranormal 3”. This is actually an allusion to Paranormal, where the female lead revealed having a connection to the paranormal since childhood.

The tapes have recordings from 1988 on them, when the two sisters from the first two movies were children. The younger of the two had an “imaginary friend” named Toby, who was a demon the whole time. Golly!

Everything following the introduction was as boring as I had expected.

At one point, the male lead, Dennis (his name was hard to forget), a wedding videographer, sets up his cameras. One of the cameras is set up on the base of a fan, so that it would create a panoramic apparatus. This was by far the most terrible thing about the entire

they then make their way towards each other, dancing and making the rest of the world seem nonexistent. Together they’re magnificent, catching everyones’ eyes…including Arielle’s father, the priest. To Arielle’s astonishment he simply says, “Your mother didn’t think you had enough money.” No punishment by the state was carried out, but was displayed by each father. In the first movie, he displays displeasure, but in a politically correct manner, by not causing a scene. In the new version, he also displays displeasure, but in an assertive “you know you’re in trouble” sort of way.

All in all, greater emotions are evoked in this new version of Footloose through each character’s personalities.

This scene is vital to the whole movie’s purpose.

Ren’s reaction to what just happened, between Arielle and her father, leaves him confused and distraught.

Ren wants to fight, to rebel against the austardusttrailers.com thorities. To make a difference in this town, he’s going to have to use those big city street smart skills to find a way to persuade the town to legalize dancing. Can he do it? It’s as if Pitchford completely threw out his twenty seven year old screenplay and started all over from the beginning again.

Teaming up with Craig Brewer to re-write the script was a clever move for Pitchford and together they brought life to the new Footloose. Go see it; whether or not you’ve seen the first, you’ll be taken over with satisfaction of the thrilling, on the edge of your seat excitement.

B

visual courtesy of http://www.movienewz.com/

movie. The fan moved so slowly to either side of the room that any suspense that could have existed didn’t. I couldn’t believe how long most of the scenes dragged on; it felt like about five minutes of the movie was actual movie, and the other 69 minutes were just fluff.

The story is actually decent. The female lead’s mother is part of an allwomen’s demonology cult that possesses young girls with demons. At the end of the movie, the female protagonist is killed by the aforementioned demon, Toby, and her mother kills Dennis with demon powers. It was a tragic ending, indeed; but unsurprising.

The most redeeming quality of the film was Dennis’s wedding videographer sidekick, Randy. Randy

Real Steel Directed by Shawn Levy Andrew Van Brunt Staff Writer

Inspired by the short story “Steel”

by Richard Matheson, Hugh Jackman stars in a heartfelt movie about a father and son relationship that grows throughout the film through their love of robot boxing.

At first, the content of the movie seems a bit ridiculous, but somehow Steven Speilburg uses robot boxing in a way which makes it not just seem realistic, but cool and inspiring to the audience.

T h e movie is set about 15 years in the future, and follows Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), an ex-boxer who never got his shot to live up to his full potential. Now, years later, he’s a robot boxer hustler who’s making money any way he can through robot boxing. After losing a big fight with high stakes, he is forced to ditch town and avoid paying all of his debts.

That’s when Charlie’s sister-inlaw and her financially successful husband drop off Charlie’s long abandoned son Max (Dakota Goya) for him to take care of during the summer while they go to Italy. At first the two do not get along at all, but through their love

provided much needed comic relief throughout most of the film. What was refreshing about Randy’s being there was the fact that something happened while he was on screen.

My opinion of the Paranormal Activity trilogy remains unchanged; the plot isn’t fantastic, the characters are two-dimensional, and the films hold little to no suspense. Collectively, Paranormal Activity is eerie at best, with an occasional startle. Cinematically, the supernatural events portrayed were well-executed, but predictable.

The worst thing about the series is how boring it is; I was unable to even laugh at how terrible it is, unlike other bad horror movies. Three years later, Paranormal Activity still leaves me unimpressed.

C-

for the sport, they’re brought together in an evidently successful way.

There underdog journey starts when they find an old robot in a junk yard named Atom. Although the robot is only a training bot, it some how is able to not only take tons of hits but is able to dish out some nasty haymakers as well. Atom is the cohesive glue to their father-son relationship and through that they discover a friendship between them that they would have never thought possible. Soon, Charlie gets his shot at a comeback that he has always dreamed of.

T h e m o v i e consisted of many touching moments, such as the strong bond bet w e e n Atom and Max. From the moment Max first discovers the robot a strong relationship blossoms, visual courtesy of collider.com but there were a few downsides. For example, right from the beginning of the movie you could already tell where it was going. Particularly in one of the first scenes the father and son interact in a way which was unoriginal and obvious; how many times have we seen a movie where hostility turns to love?

Even though the movie was very predictable, it still plays out in a way that is thrilling and keeps you wanting more.

B+

In Defense of the A new face on the football field Raiders Kyle Padia joins the Leigh sports roster as the new varsity football coach

The Extra Point

Leigh High School is an extremely diverse campus, with students from so many different walks of life. But for the last ten years, one of these groups has been the butt of more jokes, and the target of more oppression than any other. That group is Oakland Raider fans. For ten years these people have faced strife, hardship, and disappointment the likes of which would break the spirit of most men.

Raider fans have held on, despite being laughed at and belittled for a full decade. And now it seems like they finally have hope. Oakland sits at 3-2 this year, and they have one of the best-looking teams in football.

Running back Darren McFadden leads the league in rushing yards, and does not look like he has any intention of slowing down. For the first time since losing the Super Bowl in 2002, the Raiders have an extremely legitimate chance at making the playoffs.

With all of this you would think Raider fans would be dancing in the streets. Yet still they are looked down upon. When my New York Jets lost to them in Week 3, I had at least a dozen people come up to me and tell me how bad my team must be to have lost to the lowly Raiders.

No one seems to understand that the proof is in the pudding. The Raiders’ pair of losses for the year came in an extremely close game against the Buffalo Bills, and a game against the New England Patriots that came down to the wire as well.

Both of these teams have 4-1 right now, and are playing great football.

The Raiders at least put up a great fight in both contests, and certainly look like the best team in the Bay Area.

Now in Week 6, Campbell was

injured while sprinting for a first down vs. the Cleveland Browns. This is definitely an unfortunate setback for the team, but I do not feel it is one that they cannot overcome. Kyle Boller, their backup quarterback, managed to put up 100 yards while going 8/14 after stepping in to fill Campbell’s shoes.

With Campbell saying he will be out for around 6 weeks while he recovers from surgery to repair his broken collarbone, and in response Coach Hue Jackson dealt a first round pick in 2012 and a second round pick in 2013 to acquire Carson Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals. Palmer has held out this year, refusing to play for Cincinnati and demanded a trade. With the Andy Dalton putting up good numbers for the Cincinnati offense, the Bengals felt confident enough to trade away Palmer.

This trade works out well for the Raiders, as Palmer has a good history with Jackson, who was his offensive coordinator at USC for two years, and the wide receiver coach in Cincinnati for three. Palmer has already traveled down to Oakland to begin learning the Raiders’ offense, and I think he will prosper. He has a good learning opportunity with the upcoming Bye week, and the sooner he starts building a rapport with Oakland receivers Darrius Heyward-Bey, Louis Murphy, and Denarious Moore. With the Raiders’ current weapons, plus this new addition, it could be a bright future for Oakland.

I feel like Campbell just isn’t as talented as Palmer as a quarterback, and also lacks the leadership quality.

Judging by the hefty price tag he came with, the Raiders are probably going to stick with Palmer long-term, which is definitely a major improvement.

Palmer may have struggled in recent years, but that was with a lackadaisical Bengals offense. If Palmer does prove to be the quarterback the Raiders need, their offense could become one of the top units in the league. Their running game is already a force to be reckoned with, and if you couple it with a powerful passing game, it could be a huge step forward for the team.

So Raider fans rejoice! A playoff run could very well be in your future, and a new era may be dawning! It’s been far too long since the Raiders have had a winning season, and this has been a long time coming. Good luck Raider Nation, I am certainly pulling for you.

Photo by Jinny Jung

New coach Kyle Padia has led the Leigh Longhorns to a 4 - 3 record, including an impressive win over the A-league Santa Teresa Saints.

Zachary Tatar Sports Editor

You may have seen him on the field coaching our Varsity football team to victory or in your seventh period P.E. class.

I’m talking about the new Varsity football coach, Kyle Padia. I had the opportunity to sit down with the coach and ask him a few questions about himself, his life, and this year’s football season.

Q: What did you major in when you went to Northern Illinois University?

A: I majored in Physical Education to become a P.E. teacher.

Q: When did you first decide to become a high school football coach?

Q: Compared to Branham, are there any differences in the style of football?

A: Same style I brought to Branham in the past few years on offense and defense. Athletically, Leigh has always been superior to Branham and I hope that holds true.

Q: So you went to Leigh, correct?

A: Correct, I graduated in 1998.

Q: Did you play on the football team here?

A: Oh yeah, I played Quarterback.

Photo by Zachary Tatar

Q: As a coach, what are some expectation you have for the team this year?

A: I expect us to compete for a championship. We plan on winning, winning the right way, and the way we do that is working really hard in practice. We expect to compete in every game. Our schedule is really tough this year in the B league, but we can compete with any team we play.

Q: What did you do after high Coach Padia speaks with quarterback Gabe school?

A: I went to West Valley and played Davis at a game against Del Mar, where Leigh football there for two years, then trans- kicked off their season with a 40 - 12 win.

Q: Are there any games ferred to Northern Illinois University in your schedule that and got a full scholarship to play quar- A: When I played here at Leigh and you’re looking forward to playing in? from when I finished my playing career, A: I look forward to playing every team terback there.

I knew I want to become a P.E. teacher we have in our schedule. Every team Q: Why didn’t you go to the next level in and football coach. My dad was a foot- poses its problems, every team does ball coach my whole childhood, so I good things with the ball. I know we football?

A: In my first game as a starter at was used to that and knew I wanted to play Branham on their Homecoming, Northern Illinois University, I got hit become a head football coach. so that should be interesting with me and tore a cuff and had two shoulder being a teacher there. But that should surgeries. Needless to say, I don’t throw Q: How long did you coach at Branham be a fun one to go over and play them.

High school before coming here to Leigh? Then Westmont is coming here for our very well anymore.

A: I coached there for three years.

Homecoming, so that should be fun.

Athletes of the Month: Emily Ransom Staff Writer

Three well-rounded fall sport stars define girl power at Leigh High School, with their great athletic skills and contagious personalities. Maddy Fama, Lauryn Saunders, and Rachel Kuhn are three amazing people that we have the privilege to attend school with.

Maddy Fama, sophomore forward on varsity field hockey, is a star on field. She has been playing field hockey since the summer before freshman year and loves it.

“The team this year is very strong, it is in A league which, [makes it] difficult because of all the hard teams that we have to play”, says Fama.

Being on the team has introduced her to some of her closest friends and she has gotten close to many sophomores and juniors.

Outside of her sport, Fama hangs out with friends, is involved in her church, and is very big on family.

“I’m a pretty average girl,” said Fama.

When it comes to school, she prefers the subjects Spanish and Chemistry.

“I like Spanish because I feel I am fairly good at it and enjoy Chemistry because of the experiments that we do in class”, said Fama.

Through the scientific mind set she had as a child, she has grown to want to major in a medical science.

Still undecided, Fama is looking into becoming a nurse or a massage therapist at New York’s Syracuse University or at Sacramento State University. She hopes to play field hockey in college as well.

Lauryn Saunders, junior outside hitter on varsity volleyball is a real athlete.

Saunders began her volleyball journey in the 6th grade and through all those years, is still playing today.

She loves the thrill of competing and hitting the ball, or “killing the ball” as she calls it.

Players on varsity practice roughly two hours per day. So far they are 3-6.

“It’s a roller coaster ride so far, but it’s coming together,” Saunders said about this year’s season.

On the court Saunders is competitive and intimidating, but off of it, she is a caring person. In her free time she is involved with serving the community.

She is a part of Young Heroes, an organization in San Jose, which exists for the purpose of helping the community in different ways.

Saunders not only

Photo by Anna Schwarz

Rachel Kuhn

Photo by Angel Wilson

Maddy Fama Photo by Tiffany Ha

plays volleyball but also basketball and softball.

She only plans to play softball in college, though, due to the softball scholarship she received sophomore year from UC Davis, where she wishes to major in Sports Medicine.

Saunders claims to sleep with her softball bat.

Rachel Kuhn, senior varsity captain on the tennis team, puts a lot of time into her sport. Not only does she practice Mondays and Wednesdays

Lauryn Saunders and have games Tuesdays and Thursdays, but she also plans team bondings and team dress-up days. She says that being captain is very time consuming.

She and Rachel Stein are varsity cocaptains.

The Leigh varsity tennis team consists of 4 singles and 3 doubles.

Kuhn is number 2 on singles.

Kuhn has beaten her last year’s record. This year Kuhn has 4 wins and 3 loses so far, with high hopes for the games ahead.

Kuhn’s favorite subject was Biol-

ogy Honors last year because she really liked the teacher, Jessica Prouty, and she says she likes to learn about Biology.

Outside of school, Kuhn hangs out with friends and is involved in her church youth group.

“I like to have fun and I’m a positive person and I’m kind,” Kuhn said.

After high school, her top three college choices are Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Davis, and Chapman University, where she plans to major in Sports Nutrition.

Where, oh where, did all the underclassmen go?

The varsity cheer team lacks a variety of grade levels in its ranks Caitlyn Nurnberg Opinion Editor

To say that changes have been made to the cheerleading team here at Leigh this year would be an understatement.

Not only are the ladies not competing this year, but freshmen and sophomores are not allowed to be on the varsity game team.

Last year there were eleven underclassmen on the Varsity Cheersquad, and every single one of those girls got to compete in nationals, and cheer at Friday night football games. This year due to the fact that the team is not competing, the administration has decided that only upperclassmen will be allowed on Varsity, and all underclassmen will be on JV even if they were on Varsity the previous year.

“I feel like this new rule has brought [us] closer together as not only a team but as upperclassmen, because on varsity Underclassmen cheerleaders root for the JV team at the Homecoming reveal rally on Oct. 4. we are cheering for students our own age, and in most cases our the select few that feel that even if you friends.”said junior Alicia Blumstein. are an underclassmen, if you are good

This new policy is receiving enough for it you should be able to mixed feelings from the students here cheer on Varsity. Just because they are at Leigh. Many students agree with the not going to be going to any competifact that since they will not be compet- tions this year does not mean that they ing, and are only going to be cheering have to be on JV if they are considered at games, it is okay that only juniors to be at Varsity level. and seniors are on Varsity. Although “[I don’t think it’s fair] because this is a popular thought there are also JV and Varsity have always been about

Photo

by

Rajashree

Bhattacharya

skill level, not age. And I know I can do harder stunts than I am doing now,”said sophomore, and former Varsity cheerleader, Autra Namvar.

Although there is much controversy over the change in rules, Leigh’s cheer team is just as good as ever. With all of the upperclassmen cheering on the varsity football team, and all of the underclassmen cheering the JV team, it brings a sense of unity over our school because when you think about it, they are cheering for their peers. When varsity cheers they are cheering for the juniors and seniors, and of course the super freshman/sophomores.

They are cheering not only for the school but for their classmates, people they know and have known for the past three or four years. The same goes for JV. So in the end, does it really matter what team you’re on if you are accomplishing the same thing: giving the football team that extra boost they need to score that winning touchdown?

Nanxi Tang In-Depth/Online Editor

Boom, Roasted: The presidential candidate’s intellect, or well, lack thereof…

Vote for Perry for the 2012 Republican candidate! His intellect and outstanding academic record distinguish him as the ultimate candidate to run our god-blessed nation.

Just because he wasn’t meant to be a veterinarian simply means that he was born to be president! A “D” in organic chemistry?

Who cares! His “C” in U.S. History clearly affirms the fact that he was born to be president!

And that “D” in Principle of Economics? That hardly matters as we have the largest, booming economy in the world! Besides, Economics is a hard class! A “D” is by far

a superior achievement, clearly the brilliant work of a future president.

Perry understands the urgent need to change the current attrocity that is the Supreme Court. Congress must certainly have the right to override Supreme Court decsisions with two-thirds vote. Why didn’t the founding fathers think of such genius?

Perry will be the one to change the entire dynamic of our Grand Old Party. Together, we will unite as one to make sure all girls are vaccinated against the public menace that is the Human Papillomavirus. Together, we will put an end to the homosexual agenda, an end to the rampant baby killing, and an end to an independent Supreme Court. Together, we will change the world.

Clearly, Rick Perry is the American president for the American people.

For more stories, visit www. theeleight.org. For on the go use, use the code below with your phone’s QR reading application:

October 26-31: Haunted house October 27: Volleyball 6:30 @ Leigh vs. Willow Glenn October 28: Football game @ Leigh vs. Andrew Hill October 28: Field hockey 3:20 @ Los Altos October 31: Halloween November 1: Volleyball 6:00 @ Leland November 1: Common Application for Early Decision applicants due November 1: University of California applications may be submitted November 2: Tennis tourny 1:00 @ Mt. Pleasant November 2: Football 7:00 @ Leigh vs. Saratoga November 3: Tennis tourny 1:00 @ Mt. Pleasant November3: Volleyball 6:00 @ OakGrove November 4: Football 3:30 @ Leigh vs. Gilroy November 10: Minimum days- 12 week grades November 11: Veteran’s Day Holiday

Where’s Hayashi?

November 23-25: Thanksgiving Day Holiday November 30: Last day to submit University of California applications

Mikayla Druhan Staff Writer

A: “Minnie Mouse.” -Heidi Figueroa, sophomore

A: “I’m doing the Haunted House, so I’ll be comin’ through wearing that attire with my two other divas James Eakes and Andi Goeke.” -Melissa Baxter, senior

A: “I don’t usually dress up, but this year the student service center’s theme is the 1980’s. Some staff refuses to dress up because of embarrassing personal times in the ‘80s.”

-Rick Hayashi, Dean