March 2015

The World Is Our Campus Volume 62, Issue 7

Arcadia High School 180 Campus Drive, Arcadia, CA

March 2015

Ms. merel: a rising influence

In this issue:

Graphic courtesy of POPCRUNCH.COM

NEWS pg. 2 Net Neutrality: The FCC has decided to enforce net neutrality, meaning fairer treatment in terms of web traffic.

Photo by MILLIE WONG

A PILLAR OF SUPPORT Current Assistant Principal Ms. Catherine Merel has earned a well-deserved promotion to AUSD’s Director of Secondary Education, amplifying her ability to positively impact not just AHS but the district as well.

By TITUS WU Staff Writer Graphic courtesy of AHS THEATRE DEPT.

PERFORMING ARTS pg. 10 Showcase: Interested in ADD’s new production? Read more about the 60’s thriller here.

Graphic courtesy of TEALITCOM

SPORTS pg. 18-19 Advantage Arcadia: Boys Varsity Tennis is a juggernaut force and continues its winning streak.

Have a question, comment, or concern about The Apache Pow Wow? Email the Editors-in-Chief at eic.powwow@gmail.com Find us online at arcadiapowwow.wordpress.com

Beginning next year, Assistant Principal Ms. Catherine Merel, an impacting influence at AHS, will take upon the inaugural role of AUSD Director of Secondary Education.

In her current position as assistant principal, Ms. Merel handles numerous responsibilities, including overseeing the English department, the ELD teachers, the AHS world language program, the AP program, and even the Advancement Via Individual Determination program, which helps students transition from high school to college. It is because of qualifications like these that the high school “has been fortunate to have a resource like her for as long as it has,” said Principal Dr. Brent Forsee.

Indeed, her experiences stretch further back, having worked as a French and ELD teacher.

With her new promotion, she will further her impact beyond just the high school and into the middle schools as well. “My job will be to serve as a bridge between middle and high school teachers,” said Ms. Merel, “ to help middle school students transition easily into high school.” Although honored, she admits that her new job will be challenging, given she will now have “the bigger responsi-

bility of carrying out the district board’s vision.”

Along with that, Ms. Merel will still continue to oversee the ELD program among other departments, just on a bigger scale. “There are a lot of overlaps actually,” Ms. Merel said, “between my old and new job.” One main aspect that will stay the same is her huge involvement with the teachers. She consistently highlighted the importance of teachers and how working with them gave her new insight and appreciation to the time and effort teachers commit.

“Anything the teachers need or want,” she stressed, “I have [helped] and will help achieve in any way possible.”

However, her new job requires her to take a new office at the district site instead of at AHS. As a result, “what I will miss the most is simply being at the high school,” said Ms. Merel. “I love seeing the kids, staff, the variety of activities I see at school, and just everything,” she added. Despite her tenure at AHS, she “never cease[s] to be amazed by the incredible work ethic” of Arcadia students.

What most AHS faculty members will miss, though, is Ms. Merel herself. “She’s very effective at everything she does,” said ASB Director Mr. John Panza, “and she will be very hard to replace.” On a similar note, Secretary Ms. Marianne vonKriegenbergh pointed out she “has become everyone’s ‘Go To Person’,” whose absence will be felt. Even so,

both know that she will continue to make a tremendous influence in her new position.

Perhaps Ms. Merel’s greatest qualification is neither her 11-year experience in AHS nor her wealth of knowledge but her compassion. Assistant Principal Ms. Jennifer Lashier praised Ms. Merel as a “kind and warm-hearted person,” while Mr. Panza spoke of her as “truly just great.” Beyond the generic qualities, however, was something deeper. As she was interviewed, she generally avoided talking about her own impact, legacy, or qualities. Rather, she continually emphasized that she was merely a supporter of others, that she was there “just to listen” and help anybody achieve whatever direction they wanted to take. True enough, the two phrases that constantly reverberated in my ear during the interview was “help others” and “support others.”

It was sad to hear that most students didn’t immediately recognize who Ms. Merel is; however, that makes her role ever more valuable. In a play, although the star actors are essential, what is equally, if not more important, is the behind-the-scenes workers—the script writers, the set designers, the lighting technician, etc. Ms. Merel is that essential group of people behind the scenes, always supporting and helping others. twu@apachepowwow.com

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March 2015

Net Neutrality

Equality for All, One Fare at a Time

By KIMBERLY LO

By MICHAEL TSENG Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Just months ago, net neutrality was only a developing topic, but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently decided to enforce stronger net neutrality rules. Net neutrality is the idea that the Internet should be the same for everyone. With net neutrality, everyone would hypothetically get fair treatment in terms of Internet traffic. This has been a long discussion among politicians and companies who may be affected by these changes.

On Feb. 26, the FCC voted on whether or not to enforce stronger net neutrality rules, and ultimately the rules were approved. FCC Chair Tom Wheeler noted that “the Internet is simply too important to allow broadband providers to be the ones making the rules.”

This new vote approval will allow the FCC to prevent “paid prioritization”. This term comes from the concept that Internet service companies could charge customers more for better access and Internet priority.

There have been many reactions to this event, both in favor and in disagreement. FCC Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn noted that without set rules, Internet service providers could potentially be “free to block, throttle, favor or discriminate...for any user, for any reason, or for no reason at all.” Generally, the Internet service providers could control how and what people look at when they surf the Internet.

On the other hand, the Republican representatives had other things to say about this proposal. FCC Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai said, “We are flip-flopping for one reason and one reason only: President Obama told us to do so.” It is true that President Barack Obama advocated strong net neutrality rules. In November of last year, President Obama voiced his support, which strengthened the concept more. Other companies, including Tumblr and Google. have also shown agreement with the possibility of more reinforced rules.

Following the decision, Verizon shared its feelings of disappointment. Verizon Senior Vice President Michael E. Glover called the vote “a radical step that presages a time of uncertainty for consumers, innovators and investors” because the FCC “chose to use this order as an excuse to adopt 300-plus pages of broad and open-ended regulatory arcana that will have unintended negative consequences for consumers and various parts of the Internet ecosystem for years to come.”

Hopefully, the new net neutrality rules will prove to be more beneficial than harmful.

klo@apachepowwow.com

Graphic courtesy of WIRED.COM

On Feb. 28, the state of Washington led a brave experiment by allowing all low-income train passengers to pay less money to board trains. Washington has started the program in an attempt to relieve the stress on the poor working class in Seattle, and allow them to have more money for daily needs. This will increase their income rate, as their daily usage is not as high. The program addresses families with income ranging from $33,000 to $125,000. This program will allow people taking the train to afford daily tickets and stabilize Seattle’s economy.

During this program, train passes and tickets will cost $1.50, only half of the original fare price. Over 100,000 citizens have applied for the low income program, also known as the One Regional Card for All (ORCA) Lift.

Low-income citizens will have smart cards that identify them as members of the program and give them a discounted fare price.

However, some politicians and companies disagree with this program, saying that it is vulnerable and relies heavily on the growing populations of poverty and wealth.

They argue that in other cities and counties,

such as San Francisco and Ohio’s Greene county, the programs are failures. Such programs, according to protesters, are successful at first, but decline and eventually fall.

But for now, Washington is trying out this new policy, and whether it is successful highly depends on the number of people that join. “What Seattle has done is what others might consider,” said Art Guzzetti, vice

president at the American Public Transportation Association. “Everyone is watching.”

The ORCA can be used for two years, until it is time to verify the annual income of the user. It will save users about $10 a week, which adds up to $520 saved a year. The smart card has been endorsed by many other companies and health clinics all over Washington.

Over 40% of all health clinics, community colleges, and nonprofit organizations have endorsed this program and are now helping spread its use over Washington.

As imbalance of its social classes increases, Washington has taken a step in ending poverty. With this new program, many people will be able to save thousands of dollars and use that money to support their families. However, whether or not the program becomes large scale and successful depends on the number of people that opt in. mtseng@apachepowwow.com Photo courtesy of STRAITSTIMES.COM

A Better Way to Track Planes

By AMBER CHONG Staff Writer

Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia will implement a refined procedure of tracking aircraft over remote oceans to ensure planes are more efficiently found.

This was done in response to the vanishing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

A u s t r a l i a ’s Transport Minister Warren Truss announced allied engagements a week preceding the anniversary of the disappearance of Flight MH370.

This ongoing case concerns the missing plane traveling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing, China with 239 people on board. While no trace of the plane’s whereabouts has been discovered, countries are collabo- rating to search in the Indian Ocean.

Airservices Australia, a government-owned agency that oversees the country’s airspace will join forces

with its Malaysian and Indonesian counterparts to test the enhanced method. They plan to utilize the satellite-based positioning technology installed on 90% of long-haul aircrafts to forge one with higher, more reliable productivity. The equipment is expected to transmit the plane’s current location and next two planned locations.

Angus Houston, Airservices Australia’s chairman and core leader in the search for Flight MH370, claims that the trial will boost the frequency with which planes automatically log in their position, allowing air traffic controllers to better track them. Instead of the previous rate of tracking every 30 to 40 minutes, the trial would enable them to monitor at closer intervals of 15 minutes. If there were sudden deviations in the plane’s movements, the system would reflexively decrease to five or less.

“This is not a silver bullet,” he told reporters in the nation’s capital, Canberra. “But it is an

important step in delivering immediate improvements to the way we currently track aircraft while more comprehensive solutions are developed.”

Flight MH370 has placed a heavy burden on the families of attendees, and sparked a huge controversy in the mannerisms of how we respond to disappearances and manage our flight safety operations. In order to prevent further tragedy, many have called out to modify the requirement for real-time tracking of commercial aircraft. Air safety regulators and airlines have been trying to agree on how extensively planes should be tracked.

A prime example is the Boeing 777, which veered sharply off-course and vanished from radar shortly into its flight on Mar. 8.

An international team of professionals that analyzed a composition of hourly transmissions between the plane and a satellite later determined that the plane traveled for another seven hours before crashing within a 60,000-square-kilometer (23,000-squaremile) stretch of the Indian Ocean.

Houston cautioned that the new strategy was not fullproof. “I think we’ve got to be very, very careful because you can turn this system off,” he said. “What would have happened while the system is operating, we’d know exactly where the aircraft was.

If somebody had turned the system off, we’re in the same set of circumstances as we’ve experienced on the latter part of the flight of MH370.” achong@apachepowwow.com Photos courtesy of INDEPENDENT.CO.UK and EXPRESS.CO.UK

March 2015

NEWS

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YouTube Kids

By SHAWN XING

Staff Writer

While the vast majority of the millions of videos on YouTube contain content appropriate for children, the sheer number of videos means that even the small percentage of inappropriate videos is a substantial number. YouTube mainly relies on crowd-sourced means to flag and report inappropriate content on its website. For example, viewers themselves can flag a video as containing mature or inappropriate content if they feel that the video’s content warrants such a rating. But a substantial number of videos fall through this filter system and thus children can still easily end up seeing videos with inappropriate content. Even if the content of the video is kidfriendly, YouTube video comments are notoriously toxic, naturally leading parents to want to bar their children from seeing such things.

This is why Google will be releasing a YouTube app for kids, appropriately called YouTube Kids.

The mobile app will have heavily edited content and will rely on the community reporting feature to flag new kids’ videos being published.

The app also restricts kids from searching terms such as “murder” and will prompt them to search for something else. Further changes reflecting the app’s targeted

audience is the app’s minimal text and simplified design, to make it easier for kids to browse the app. Children can only play videos in the app, and cannot upload, edit, or comment on videos. After a video ends, another video will play, as though the video were in a playlist. Of course, there are parental controls, which will allow parents to shut down the app after the child has used the app for some period of time.

Videos on the app are divided into four categories. The Shows category include channels like Sesame Street and the Music section has popular

songs and sing-alongs such as Frozen’s “Let It Go” sing-along video. The app’s developers are aware of children’s interest in learning, so many educational and walkthrough videos are available in the

Learning and Explore sections, with topics ranging from a woman unpacking Disney toys to Minecraft walkthroughs.

Aside from its own internal testing with kids and users, Google also shared the app with advocacy groups such as the Internet Keep Safe Coalition.

The app will generate revenue through advertisements targeted towards kids. The advertisements, according to an article by CNN, will undergo a “rigorous review” to ensure that they are childrenfriendly. Furthermore, in accordance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which “limits online tracking of anyone under 13,” users do not need to log into the app to use it.

The app is one of the first of its kind to target children, and may be the first of many to start targeting this demographic as even children become more techsavvy with smartphones and tablets. sxing@apachepowwow.com

Graphics courtesy of MSHCDN.COM and GOOGLEUSERCONTENT.COM

Attentive Driving

By DONNA SAYPHRARAJ

Staff Writer

In the U.S., driving has been an essential part of everyday life since the early 1900s. However, the convenience associated with driving also correlates with unfortunate danger. Nearly 37,000 people die from automobile-related accidents every year in America, even as car companies strive to make vehicles as safe as possible. Worldwide, there are over 1.3 million deaths annually.

Most European countries have taken measures to adopt safer roadways and conditions for drivers, but America has been slow to imitate these changes. In 2005, the U.K Department of Transportation unveiled plans to change roadway signs and markers to keep drivers more attentive. The logic was this: if signs and markers on the streets were designed to make drivers more nervous, they would naturally be more focused on operating the vehicle, and thus become safer drivers. In countries such as the U.K, the Netherlands, and Germany, originally two-lane roads have become narrower three-lane ones—all part of the plan to keep drivers on edge and concentrated.

Recently, a study published by re-

searchers at Brigham Young University and University of Michigan has asserted that signs (such as school-crossing warnings) with greater ranges of motion raise a driver’s perception of risk, therefore raising their caution levels and causing them to steer with more care.

An experiment performed in the study involved showing volunteer participants various pictures of caution signs

degree of movement involved were noticed first and led to increased scanning of the surrounding area by the partic ipa nts .

Researchers attribute this reaction to more effective roadway warnings to evolutionary psychology— humans have developed natural systems to help maximize chances of detecting potential dangers.

However, although these signs are designed to make drivers more attentive, they may also be distracting, as the loud movement of some diagrams detract attention from the road.

Whatever the case may be, none can argue that something must be done to make American roadways safer, and the revision of some street signs may just be the way to go.

from the driver’s seat of a car. There would be numerous signs depicting the same warning, although each would have a varying degree of motion. For example, a sedate sign advertising falling rocks would include a rock perched atop a cliff, while a more dynamic one advertisdsayphraraj@apachepowwow.com ing the same situation showed the rocks tumbling down the cliff in midair. Using Photo courtesy of EAMONNDORLING.CO.UK Graphic courtesy of eye-motion sensors, researchers were ROADTRAFFICSAFETYSIGNS.COM able to determine that signs with a greater

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s t a f f Editors

Editors-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editors Opinion Editors Performing Arts Editors Student Life Editors Features Editors Sports Editors Academics Editors Center Spread Editor Calendar Editor Campus Focus Editor Advertisement Editor Photography Editors Executive Copy Editors Fundraising Chairs

Katrina Chao and Stanley Shaw Belle Zheng Simone Chu and Terri Shi Victoria Yu and Erika Zheng Amelia Jin and Briana Shen Daniel Jenn and Justin Tang Elaine Chung and Lily Ling Allan Gao and Charles Xu Helen Lee and Tiffany Liu Josh Bay Brittanie Gaja and Rose Li Flora Ung Elisha Lee Ben Geisberg and Millie Wong Michelle Gu and Hafsah Umerani Yoko Chan and Chelsea Cheng

Writers

News Staff

Opinion Staff

Performing Arts Staff

Student Life Staff

Features Staff

Sports Staff

Academics Staff

Calendar Staff

Campus Focus Staff Center Spread Staff Advertisement Staff

Photo Staff

Copy Editing Staff

Adviser

Eric Chen, Amber Chong, Jessie Hui, Michelle Huang, Eileen Lee, Kaitlyn Liao, Andrew Lim, Julia Lin, Kimberly Lo, Sukanya Mukherjee, Emily Quach, Donna Saypharaj, Kristen Tran, Shawn Xing, Veronica Yu, Roy Zhang Tiffany Chen, Niki Chi, Amber Chong, Teddy Chu, Michelle Fang, Ben Geisberg, Julia Lin, Andrew Muliadi, Donna Saypharaj, Lauren Trajano, Madeline Lee, Sukanya Mukherjee, Titus Wu, Veronica Yu Jacqueline Chang, Eric Chen, Katie Huang, Celine Lee, Eileen Lee, Ellie Lee, Erin Li, Kyle Wang, Roy Zhang Eric Chen, Ryan Fann, Eileen Lee, Ellie Lee, Andrea Liu, Emily Schube, Kristie Sun, Tiffany Tsui, Emily Wu, Shawn Xing, Gary Zhu Tiffany Chen, Katie Huang, Michelle Huang, Celine Lee, Julia Lin, Cristian Nalbandian, Emily Schube, Cathleen Shen, Sunny Wu, Pearl Yang, Elyse Yao, Veronica Yu, Gary Zhu Tiffany Chen, William Hsu, Peter Ju, Ellie Lee, Erin Li, Andrew Lim, Christina Read, Lauren Trajano, Titus Wu, Shawn Xing, Pearl Yang, Roy Zhang Tiffany Chen, William Hsu, Peter Ju, Ellie Lee, Erin Li, Andrew Lim, Christina Read, Lauren Trajano, Titus Wu, Shawn Xing, Pearl Yang, Roy Zhang Jacqueline Chang, Jessie Hui, Peter Ju, Kaitlyn Liao, Andrew Lim, Debbie Moon, Emily Quach, Cathleen Shen, Kristen Tran, Andrew Wang, Kyle Wang, Emily Wu, Sunny Wu, Pearl Yang, Elyse Yao Emily Quach Katie Huang Jacqueline Chang, Niki Chi, Teddy Chu, William Hsu, Michelle Huang, Peter Ju, Andrea Liu, Andrew Muliadi, Tiffany Tsui, Kyle Wang, Emily Wu Teddy Chu, Ryan Fann, Brittanie Gaja, Derek Lee, Debbie Moon, Stanley Shaw, Cathleen Shen, Kristen Tran, Titus Wu Michelle Fang, Ryan Fann, Jessie Hui, Madeline Lee, Kaitlyn Liao, Debbie Moon, Christina Read, Emily Schube, Andrew Wang, Kyle Wang, Elyse Yao, Veronica Yu, Gary Zhu Mr. Johnny Lee

Publication Information: The Apache Pow Wow is a student publication distributed monthly throughout the school year. The paper has been continuously published since Arcadia High School opened in 1952. Unsigned articles appearing on the opinion page reflect the opinion of The Apache Pow Wow editorial board. A student’s work does not represent the views of Arcadia High School or the Arcadia Unified School District. Address letters to the editor to: The Apache Pow Wow, 180 W. Campus Drive, Arcadia, CA 91007. To place an advertisement in the newspaper, email ads.powwow@gmail.com. Advertisement rates vary from $30 for a business card advertisement to $250 for a full-page black and white advertisement, with quarter-page, half-page, and advertisement insert options available.

Graphic courtesy of ALPHACODERS.COM

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March 2015

A New Kind of Californian Crop

By JULIA LIN Staff Writer

tion may be one of the last of its kind, as the project uses an absurd amount of land. However, Obama has made renewable energy sources a priority in 2015, loaning Desert Sunlight $1.5 billion in hopes

plaints from the Joshua Tree National Park during construction. The enormous structure reportedly “blocked visual resources” and disrupted wildlife habitats, especially those of sensitive species such

Located in the Mojave Desert of Riverside County, Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, which began operating in December 2014, is capable of harnessing enough solar energy to power 160,000 homes in Southern California. At 4,000 acres wide, this establishment is the largest in the world and the largest on “public lands managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management”, according to LA Times. Desert Sunlight will play an imporclean power advocate, stated, “As we look to tant role in reaching Governor Jerry Brown’s call expand clean energy production on public lands for California to increase clean energy by 50% by and in public waters, we must keep the day-to2030. day work of environmental protection in mind.

The establishment utilizes over eight million Renewable energy projects can still disrupt the photovoltaic modules, a thin film, to collect the natural environment if put in the wrong places solar energy. This technology leaves the least carand if proper precautions are not taken—an outbon byproduct of its kind to date. come fundamentally at odds with the reasons The website of First Solar, its original dewe’re developing clean energy in the first place.” veloper, states that using solar power from Desert Nonetheless, the solar farm is an imSunlight displaces “approximately 300,000 metprovement in terms of sustainable energy, as ric tons of carbon dioxide per year—the equivaCalifornia now has the most renewable energy lent of taking about 60,000 cars off the road.” sources in the country. Desert Sunlight can Also, no water is required to generate this form of generate nearly half the amount of solar energy energy, slightly relieving California’s long-term produced in all of 2008. David Hochschild, a drought. member of the California Energy Commission, This particular farm is catching additional BRIGHTENING UP YOUR DAY Solar farms are a source of clean, renewable energy. says, “There were a lot of skeptics who actuinterest because of its relations to big-name com- Additionally, no water is necessary to generate solar power—a definite plus in our drought- ally didn’t believe that renewables could scale, panies such as Pacific Gas & Electric Company stricken state. that this cost reduction could happen, that we and Southern California Edison, both of which of increasing clean energy use over oil or coal and as the desert tortoise, the burro deer, and eight types could introduce it to the grid. They’ve been contracted a deal to buy solar power from Desert reducing carbon dioxide emission. Others have crit- of rare plants. The project also removed 4,400 acres proven wrong.”

Sunlight for the next two decades. In addition, Kai- icized the decision, since another solar panel based of foraging land for golden eagles. Its request for ser Permanente will buy 110-megawatts worth of company in Fremont filed for bankruptcy after re- more groundwater during construction drew conjlin@apachepowwow.com energy to power over 35 hospitals and 600 offices. ceiving $535 million in loans from the government. cern from local residents as well.

Photo courtesy of ALTERNATIVE-ENERGIES.NET The 550-megawatts photovoltaic power staDesert Sunlight has gotten plenty of comIn response, John Podesta, politician and Graphic courtesy of GALLERYHIP.COM

Go Green with Your Caffeine Fix Incentive to Clean Up Your Plate

By ERIC CHEN Staff Writer

Maybe we don’t have flying cars yet, but it’s certain that the field of science has experienced a boom in productivity. And what better way to use science and technology than to help the natural environment? We depend on Mother Nature to bring us a plethora of natural resources that are essential to human survival. In fact, even oxygen, an element that humans simply cannot live without, is generated from the natural environment.

So how can we use science to aid the conservation of nature? Well, recently, scientists have discovered the perfect way by researching just how often people drink coffee.

Scientists have utilized the advantages of disposable products on a whole other scale.

Typically, most disposable products have bad reputations for worsening the environment. For example, plastic and styrofoam, the two most commonly used disposable materials around the world, have exerted widely detrimental effects on the world. However, this new disposable product uses “green” materials that, when thrown away, actually benefit the environment. The new prod-

uct—disposable coffee cups—have been mass produced and distributed to nearly all parts of the world, in hopes of contributing to conservation efforts and reducing waste.

This seeded cup, made of post-consumer paper, can actually be planted after its use to help rejuvenate barren soil and attract pollinators. These cups biodegrade after approximately 180 days, creating a nutrient-rich layer of soil under which plants, seeds, and organism life can prosper.

Furthermore, each cup, as their name suggests, contains at least one tree seed, so these cups can actually produce life on its own when thrown away. And as far as general customer incentives are concerned, these cups cost the same amount as standard styrofoam cups.

Clearly, these seeded cups are projected to make a huge difference to the environment, especially in the aspects of fossil fuel and hazardous chemical emissions. Most coffee cups either get dumped into the trash bin or the recycle bin, both of which eventually get taken to landfills.

(Cups that get thrown into the recycle bin get reused about three more times before meeting the same fate as cups that are initially taken to landfills.) In this way, seeded cups generate far higher economical benefits, as seeded cups do not require the burning and emissions costs of the landfills.

So what are you waiting for?

Over 145 billion seeded coffee cups have been produced and distributed around the globe. Join the revolution and start using a seeded cup now! echen@apachepowwow.com Graphic courtesy of GIZMAG.COM

By SUKANYA MUKHERJEE Staff Writer

As people starve on the street, other households throw away leftovers without a second thought. What may appear unappealing to some families could be vital to others. “Food waste,” said Richard Swannell, director of sustainable food systems at the Waste and Resources Action Program, or Wrap, an anti-waste organization in Britain, “is a global issue and tackling it is a priority.”

According to its report, a third of the food produced in the world is never consumed, but thrown in the garbage. This food, worth almost $400 billion a year, could be used to save $120 to $300 billion by 2030.

Not only that, but the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations states this food is more than enough to feed the 870 million hungry people in the world.

The problem stems from the world’s growing middle class. Many families throw away food without thinking anything of it, not realizing that they’re wasting precious resources. Unless actions are taken, studies claim that consumer food waste will add up to $600 billion a year. The economic consequences of this issue are brought to new heights with the way food waste contributes to climate change. Producing food requires an immense quantity of water, fertilizer and land, and these are wasted when the food is thrown away

uneaten.

Roughly 32 million metric tons of food waste ends up in landfills and as food decomposes, methane gas, a greenhouse gas, pollutes the air.

Currently, on a global scale, food waste is resulting in 3.3 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases.

Paul Kroening, supervising environmentalist at Hennepin County Environmental Services in Minnesota, admitted that “there is still a lot in the waste stream,” but stated that Minnesota, as well as cities such as New York City, are making a conscious effort to reduce waste. The Hennepin County Environmental Services works to provide grants ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 to local businesses and nonprofits to help recycle food products or turn them into compost.

Chains such as the Grocery Manufacturers Association are also working with supermarket chains to reduce food waste by selling smaller portions of food and checking expiration dates.

These initiatives, however, ought to happen at home too. While recycling at home may not seem as though it makes a big difference, if everyone does their share, together, we can reduce food waste. One of the first steps to solving a problem is awareness, and once people know the problem, we can take steps to fix it. smukherjee@apachepowwow.com

Photo courtesy of FOODNAVIGATOR.COM

March 2015

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OPINION

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March 2015

Meet the Nine Intelligences

By JULIA LIN The nine intelligences, Naturalistic, Musical, Logical-Mathematical, Existential, Interpersonal, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Linguistic, Intra-Personal, and Spatial settled into their seats at the monthly Intelligence Council meeting held inside a student’s brain.

“It has come to my attention that most students hold Logical-Mathematical Intelligence and Linguistic Intelligence to a higher level than the rest of us. Obviously, this is not true; however, I would like to hear all of your opinions on this phenomena,” announced Intra-Personal Intelligence, the president of the council. As the head of the group, she was the only self-actualized member.

The treasurer, Logical-Mathematical Intelligence, nudged his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and sniveled with pride, “well, they’re not exactly wrong. According to my calculations, the SAT’s and the ACT’s test material is 100% comprised of knowledge regarding science, mathematics, and language.”

Haughtily, Linguistic Intelligence nodded in agreement. Ignoring the exasperated groans of her peers, she began to add in her own two cents, “Logical-Mathematical Intelligence, I fully concur. Why, to be truly enlightened, one must master the art of literature.

As a matter of fact, prose is of the utmost—” “Come off your high horses. We all know that the standardized tests aren’t accurate in determining a student’s brain power under pressure,” scoffed Existential Intelligence.

He leaned back in his chair arrogantly. “logic and language arts are not nearly as important as attempting to answer profound questions about the human existence. After all, Stephen Hawking is one of the smartest people on Earth and he relies far more on me than he does on math and English.”

The artistically talented Spatial Intelligence, who was sketching a three-dimensional figure in short strokes, paused to tuck her charcoal pencil behind her left ear before she repositioned her beret. She looked unimpressed, eyebrows raised in high arches.

“You’re so pretentious. You want to talk about famous figures? Fine! I am the reason for Van Gogh’s, Picasso’s, and Michelangelo’s success! Who’s more important now, sucker?”

“We are NOT having this debate right now,” interrupted Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence, as he flexed his bulky biceps in an effort to seem more intimidating. “In a life-or-death situation, I make the calls. If someone’s running away from an axe-wielding

Staff Writer

murderer, painting a picture of mere birds will not save his or her life.”

Green with disdain, Naturalistic Intelligence frowned at the thoughtless bird remark and protested, “What do you mean by ‘mere birds’? I’ll have you know that birds are essential to wildlife and have sustained humans for millions of years. Humans are only able to survive to this day because of all the benefits the ecosystem has bestowed upon them. I, who helped aid their evolutionary instinct, should know this best.”

Intra-Personal Intelligence rubbed her temples to soothe her growing migraine. This was not going as smoothly as she had planned. Just as she didn’t think the fiasco would escalate any further, Musical Intelligence chucked a drumstick at Naturalistic Intelligence, annoyed that her sense of rhythm was disturbed by all the chaos.

“Can it with your environmental talk already! This is NOT music to my ears. I can’t even hear Mozart through my earphones, and the volume is all the way up. You’re killing my vibe.”

Musical Intelligence leered, “And FYI? Elvis Presley most certainly didn’t sell hundreds of millions of albums by preaching about the wonders of Mother Earth. I am the only Intelligence that appeals to the ears. Which one of you can compare to my superstar status?”

Interpersonal Intelligence, who was in charge of keeping friendly communications among the members, slammed her fists on the table and shot death glares around the table.

Normally, she was fair-tempered, but she had had enough of the other Intelligences arguing needlessly.

“Enough of this nonsense! We did not hold this meeting for any of you to prove your superiority. Let’s keep this meeting unbiased. Just because students don’t get A’s in academics doesn’t mean they are stupid. School doesn’t necessarily cater to those who have different intelligences. All Intelligences are equal, but some don’t have the opportunity to showcase themselves to their full potential. Are we clear?”

The rest of the Intelligences, although grumbling, piped down in a nine-way truce at Interpersonal Intelligence’s stern lecture. For eons-old beings, they were still childish at times. Intra-Personal Intelligence sighed in gratitude.

“Thank you, Interpersonal Intelligence, for your rousing speech.

Meeting adjourned!” dismissed the president curtly.

jlin@apachepowwow.com Graphic by SUNNY WU Graphic courtesy of GET.BRAINADVANTAGE.COM

March 2015

OPINION

theopinionsection@gmail.com

A Parent’s Letter

By SUKANYA MUKHERJEE

Staff Writer

Senior year is almost drawing to a close and next year, who knows where I’ll be?

Dinner table conversations at my house have shifted from politics and daily shenanigans to focus on one topic: college. My parents lament in the evenings, “You’ll be eating at the dining hall next year.” The blaring alarm clock in the mornings is coupled with, “How are you going to get up in college if you can’t get up now?!” It’s lighthearted, but I hear the hushed whispers too—the fears and the doubts, and I wonder what it must feel like for my parents to watch their daughter leave them. I can only imagine what they would say, but if I had to pen their feelings (and their daily ramblings); this may be a facet of their emotions.

Forgive me. I shouldn’t have pulled you out of bed for all these years. I’m not sure if you’ll be able to wake up in the morning on your own, but don’t forget—I bought you that alarm clock for a reason. The snooze button was not designed to be repeatedly struck with your fist as you fall back asleep. Do you expect your roommate to wake you up in college? I know that it seems like this is all I ever tell you now. I’m sorry, but your departure has consumed my mind these past few months. For the first time, I won’t be there to shield you, and I do dearly hope you make good, sound decisions, take care of yourself, watch what they mix into your drinks, and try everything. All your life, I’ve told you to be cautious, but now is the time to take risks.

This is a window of opportunity that won’t come again. You hear people say it all the time: the best four years of your life… only if you make it so. Take chances, be bold, experiment, but be smart. I have faith in you to make the right decisions. Remember to balance your school life and social life. College will offer you a plethora of opportunities, and it’s up to you to figure out how to manage your social and academic life. Life will no longer be determined by a bell schedule. When no one’s there to tell you where to be or where to go, I hope you can discipline yourself to be productive. Don’t squander the time that you have now!

And knowing you and the klutz that you are, you’ll make mistakes, but remember to own up to them. Learn to take responsibility for your actions now, as the consequences get steeper as you get older. Remember your manners. I’ve seen some of my friends let the freedom get to their heads. Be humble, and remember that you don’t know what someone else is going through, so always be kind. And don’t think that just because you have left my house, I won’t call you incessantly to make sure you’re not wasting my money.

I have watched you take your first steps, and now I’ll watch you walk out the door.

Everything’s out there—the freedom, the danger, the knowledge, the thrills. You’re not ready. To me, you’ll never be. Your license legally recognizes you as an adult, but there’s still a long way to go.

You’re excited and I’m so scared—to watch you go, to realize you won’t always need me. But I hope you never forget that I’m here for you, no matter what happens. Even though I am a nagging, annoying, old timer, I used to be your age once. And despite your doubts, I’ve been through what you’re going through. HMU (Hit me up) from time to time. That’s what the kids say nowadays, right?

Don’t worry; I won’t forget to embarrass you from time to time. After all, you’re still my baby. smukherjee@apachepowwow.com

Graphic courtesy of SOJO.NET

7

Friendships for a Lifetime

By MADELINE LEE Staff Writer

The Earth is in constant orbit around the Sun, seconds tick by endlessly, and life stops for no one; we fall apart and come back together all the time, our relationships with others anything but resistant to change, though we often wish the opposite.

As children, we learned facts about existence the hard way: place your hand on a hot surface and you will be burned, tell the cute guy at school you really like him and he might just laugh in response, make awful mistakes and your parents will continue to love you in spite of them, and forget all about the embarrassing moments because life goes on. Yet, the toughest lesson of all that we may never master has to be learning what a true friend is—because who can you really trust to teach you the proper criterion for that when we are all such diverse and inconstant individuals?

Growing up has been an endless struggle with the momentum of life and though the aforementioned statements are simple truths, I often found it difficult to grasp the concept of consistent variation throughout high school. Thus, as a near-adult and senior, hindsight has allowed me to analyze the different types of relationships I entertained in the last four years.

Freshman me was so overwhelmed by the sheer number of students in the new high school environment that I didn’t really know where to start with making friends. Names and faces flew by and I mostly clung onto people I had known from middle school already, choosing stagnation in my comfort zone over branching out and extending my meager list of Facebook ‘friends’. I distinctly remember wondering how I would ever meet all the people in my graduating class, let alone the rest of the school, and if I would even fit in here, that maybe this was all just wishful thinking and they wouldn’t want to be my friends anyway. But I invested my time in a few extracurriculars and soon, I met others sharing similar passions as me.

The differences between my middle school friends and me were then made increasingly apparent as they, too, ventured to other social avenues and it became startlingly clear that we really had nothing in common anymore. So we drifted, as one does when there is no longer common ground to keep a group tied together, and went our separate ways.

Sophomore me was nearly the literal embodiment of the term sophomoric—I genuinely believed that perfect grades on my report card and transcript were the key to happiness; a social life was not particularly my strong suit aside from maintaining superficially shallow conversation with my classmates daily. Outside of school, I had a laundry list of personal circumstances that no one quite knew about because the people you talk to for 54 minutes of one period are not typically whom you front-load all your issues onto.

They’re the ones you speak fondly of in fleeting conversation, citing that you shared a class or maybe worked on a project together, but you’ll never progress to a deeper level of friendship.

And while you’re both to blame for this social relationship of circumstance, you also won’t acknowledge each other in the hallways after a while because it’ll be easier to look away and pretend you never made eye contact in the first place. Despite these revelations, I slowly started to recreate a social group of sorts with several of my friends from middle school; though, it seemed a fleeting detail so I didn’t think much of it at the time.

Junior me saw the friend group grow exponentially as more and more of the people that I had met in high school wormed their way into a central aspect of my life. The struggles of a rigorous and formative year were endured and bonded over with study sessions and late night food runs.

These individuals, all so unique, intelligent, and ambitious became my best friends and confidantes; any one of us could tell if another was having a bad day and offered group solace, funny phone calls, or boba drop-offs. Hangouts became so frequent that oftentimes we would just enjoy each other’s company in silence or take naps together after a long day of testing at school; and while we were often too busy to gather altogether at once, the feat was not completely impossible, so we made it work—our mission improbable. It was then that I came to the realization (at some anticlimactic point in the year) that this dynamic group would be the pinnacle of my high school career and its members some of the greatest people I have ever and I’m sure, will ever met.

Senior me types away at her keyboard to try to put into words this incredible phenomenon that she has been afforded over the last few years, though she is about to graduate in a few months.

I haven’t met everyone in my own grade yet—I actually can’t go a day without passing someone on my way to class that I have never seen before on campus—but I have encountered and befriended some of the greatest people in my graduating class. They are ones whose conversations surpass the duration of a singular period and whose intentions extend beyond finding a partner to do a class presentation with. In high school, I have found a second family that truly cares for the well-being of one another and would do most anything in the name of friendship. These are the people who I hope will be my forever friends, my consistencies in a world of constant change; because no matter where we go from here or end up at next year, we’ll always have each other, our mission accomplished. mlee@apachepowwow.com

Photos courtesy of FACEBOOK.COM

8

FEATURES

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By EMILY SCHUBE Staff Writer

By VERONICA YU Staff Writer

On Mar. 8, we had to turn back our clocks an hour for Daylight Saving Time (DST). For most of us, this means that a desperately needed extra hour of sleep is gone and lost until it comes time to change our clocks once again on Nov. 1.

This time, change is hard to adjust to as we now have to wake up an extra hour earlier as opposed to before, and our bodies are not accustomed to this one hour difference.

Although all of us have to go through this transition, many of us don’t know the real reason behind why we have to change the clock back every year. Here’s what DST is and why we have it!

DST is used in most westernized countries during the months with more light and longer days. The idea was first proposed by George Vernon Hudson in 1895. Afterwards, more countries began using it after the energy crisis in the 1970s.

People would

change their clocks an hour back on a certain set day. The concept was that sunlight would last longer into the later hours, so people wouldn’t use their electricity as much when they got home from work, since it would still be bright outside. People would still go about their daily routines, but the sunlit hour from the morning would be moved down, so there would be more sunlit hours during the day and night.

Because spring and summer provide longer days with sunlight, it is ideal that DST takes place during those months in which days are naturally longer, which eases the need for electricity. It would be unwise to make DST year-round, since the sun sets earlier during winter and the nights are longer.

DST seems to have a lot more reason and thought put into it than someone just randomly wanting to switch up time twice a year. Although right now DST seems like the hardest change to adapt to, after a few days of timelag, we all get used to it and enjoy that extra hour of sunlight during summer time.

Arcadia is going through some major changes: the new Gold Line Station and its bridge that hovers over Santa Anita, the beautifully structured Methodist Hospital, and of course, the exquisite campus of AHS. These major changes affect many Arcadians, and this is both good and bad. The new Metro station decreases the difficulty of traveling, but increases traffic stops. The modernized hospital is also impressive, but there are exponentially more hallways to get lost in. And even our very own high school has some flaws: for example, the refurbished library looks so amazing that students are beginning to read more! However, the library is not the only popular AHS hangout spot that went under construction.

The Santa Anita Mall has also been under some extensive remodeling, with some great changes and some not-so-great adjustments as well. This, however, does not stop many Arcadians from going there. With a more modernized look, “this [mall] has everything,” commented a Yelp reviewer regarding the “amazing shops and restaurants.” The core consists of unique seating and extraordinary designs. Not only that, but the addition of the Promenade a few years ago has also attracted even more attention. Inside and out, this shopping center is becoming popular for its looks and style.

vyu@apachepowwow.com

Graphics courtesy of DREAMSTIME.COM

March 2015

“I’ve never seen [anything like this] in another mall. I think the new decorations and furniture are nice. [It is] entertaining if you go to socialize with friends instead of shopping,” sophomore Ruffina Silva stated. Junior Erica Kono added, “The stairs are cool and a good way to exercise while shopping.” The mall’s new update allows friends, families, and students to enjoy their visit and relax in a comfortable environment.

Although there are many wondrous changes to the mall, there are some disappointments. “I miss the carousel!” sophomore Eden Ritholz grieved, regarding the removal of the grand carousel ride that was stationed in the center of the mall. Replaced with staircases, kiosks, and other arrangements, the lovely carousel was not in sync with the renovated style, leaving many children and teens upset. “I remember always walking past it; it just felt like a permanent part of the mall, [but] I still go to the mall regardless of the changes made,” Eden commented.

Even though a part of our childhood is gone, we still need to shop, and the Santa Anita Mall is a great place to do it, no matter the style! If you haven’t witnessed the wonders at the mall, I suggest you see for yourself.

eschube@apachepowwow.com

Photo courtesy of AMCTHEATRES.COM

By KATIE HUANG Staff Writer

There’s no doubt that there’s just some unimaginable cuteness about a bringing a new puppy home. While going to a breeder for a new pet is often a popular way to do so, nothing will bring you closer to your pet than knowing that you have saved its life. Adoption allows one to choose from a variety of lovable pets, and for usually a fraction of the price to buy a pet, gives you the same compassionate friend.

The Pasadena Humane Society takes in new animals daily, as it receives numerous drop-offs from previous owners, or just people who have found animals on the streets.

Like most humane societies, it also encompasses the use of a vehicle to scour the city for any lost animals. Once residing at the facility, animals will undergo an examination to gather basic information and ensure the safety of the animal, such as the breed, age, and vaccination history, if all of this was not previously known before. After the examination, the pets can then be allowed to interact with any potential owners.

Junior Ethan Chen has recently been looking into adopting a dog, following the example of his friend, junior Lachlan Ma, who is the proud owner of two-year-old Neena, an adopted Golden Retriever mix. Both of them agree that adopting is the better alternative, mainly because one would be rescuing an animal that would’ve otherwise been abandoned or euthanized. Ethan has visited the Pasadena Humane Society numerous times, and claimed that “all the dogs are really friendly and look like they want to play with you, so it’s not scary at all.”

While the adoption process may be thorough, it is necessary to ensure the safety and qualification of both the animal and yourself. If you are interested in adopting an animal, you can check the information sheet attached to the kennel of the animal, which will include the date that the animal is certified to go home. You can then fill out an application and schedule an appointment to talk to an adoption advisor.

This meeting will consist of the advisor asking basic questions to make sure that both you and your future pet are the best fit for each other. Once approved, you will officially be put on the waiting list, consisting of the first three potential adopters. Each slot correlates to a specific time on an office day; if the first person

on the waiting list successfully shows up at their allotted time, he or she will be able to adopt the animal. It he or she is not present, the same procedure will continue for the applicants in order of the list. The final procedure will be to pay the fees, which vary for each animal, and make sure they are spayed or neutered if the pet is a cat or a dog.

It’s just as easy to fall in love with an older pet (or even a newborn!) at the animal shelter. If you are looking for a companion, make the choice today to save a life.

khuang@apachepowwow.com

Photos courtesy of MEDIACACHE.COM and SMALLPETS.COM

March 2015

FEATURES

features.pw@gmail.com

9

Perks of Being Multilingual

By JULIA LIN Staff Writer

Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world for a reason. Not only is it a calming drink, but it can also have many different benefits that come from nutrients and antioxidants present in the Camellia sinensis (tea) leaves steeped in water. With the dizzying number of products available in the market, it can be hard to determine which has more healthful properties.

Tea is generally considered to branch out into four main sections: white, green, oolong, and black. Each differs by its preparation. White tea is lightly oxidized, uncured, and unfermented, whereas black tea is highly oxidized. Green tea is made by steaming minimally oxidized leaves, and oolong tea is produced with oxidized leaves that are withered and twisted under intense sun. All may prevent cancer, hypertension, and other diseases.

White tea has a delicate taste, often sweeter than other varieties. According to the University of Michigan’s medical research department, white tea is the least processed form of tea, and therefore is higher in antioxidants. It is also said to have anti-aging properties and lower cholesterol levels. An extract derived from white tea was also revealed to slow the growth of certain bacteria.

In comparison, black tea has a lower amount of antioxidants but a higher dose of caffeine. About 2% to 4% of black tea is caffeine, which may lessen symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and increase alertness. In turn, gulping down black tea can improve mental memory and information processing skills. However, drinking more than five cups a day could lead to dizziness and irregular hearing. Risks of kidney stones also seem to be lowered by as much as 8% in women who drink black tea.

Green tea has plenty of catechin, or antioxidants that can repair cell damage. It’s claimed to be “the healthiest drink in the world” for aiding in blood circulation and possibly blocking plaque formation linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Blood sugar may be stabilized with regular consumption of green tea as well. Both white and green tea may fight colon cancer with their polyphenols.

Oolong tea, which originated in China, is especially helpful in averting tooth decay and osteoporosis, or deteriorating bones. Similar to black tea, it has a moderate concentration of caffeine, which helps awaken the central nervous system, heart, and muscles. One study suggests that just two to four cups of oolong tea a day could cut the risk of ovarian cancer in half. Other types of tea are likely to lower the possibility of ovarian cancer too.

White, black, green, and oolong tea offer many overlapping health benefits, but all have their individual perks. Brew a cup of each delicious tea in the name of experimental good health!

jlin@apachepowwow.com

Graphics courtesy of NATURALREMEDYFIX.COM

By MICHELLE FANG Staff Writer

Everyone has the capacity to be fluent in more than one language, so why not take advantage of that? The multitude of benefits include heightened cognitive abilities, cultural appreciation, and better communication skills.

In addition to the most notable skills associated with language learning, such as memory and speaking skills, being multilingual also improves your abilities to focus, multi-task, and solve problems. The brain must multi-task, because a multilingual person always has more than one language “turned on” in their head. Problem solving and focus are needed to learn languages, and both apply to processes such as circumlocution to express an idea you haven’t yet learned the word for.

Multilingualism also boosts creativity and stretches the flexibility of your thinking from the perspective gained with knowledge of different cultures. Language learning takes time, but the enhanced cognitive abilities are worth the while.

Being multilingual also results in better communication and social skills. Having more than one language under your belt in-

By CELINE LEE Staff Writer

Nowadays, St. Patrick’s Day is an holiday that is celebrated in many countries.

There are parades, parties, and the color green, along with shamrock icons, throughout the streets. Despite all the efforts to celebrate this holiday, have you ever wondered why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or wonder why we wear the color green? Find out more as we go through the brief origins of this holiday, explain the traditions, and clear up some confusing myths!

Origins: St. Patrick’s Day is known as the Feast of Saint Patrick, which is celebrated every year on Mar. 17.

St. Patrick was kidnapped

by Irish raiders at the age of 16 and was taken as a slave to Gaelic Ireland. He found a deeper relationship with God during his six years of enslavement. After a sign from God, St. Patrick made his way home and became a priest. He returned to Ireland to convert the Pagan Irish to Christianity.

creases the number of job opportunities, the most notable being a translator or a diplomat.

Knowing another country’s language and culture makes you a prime candidate to send over and negotiate with foreign officials, for example. Aside from the language, you will also learn to speak to others. As you learn a

new language and immerse yourself in the culture, you begin to develop a deeper and better understanding of cultural references, whether it applies to your own heritage or others’. This allows you to build stronger relationships with people you meet, as you are able to appreciate their customs.

Not only will you be better at communicating and understanding others, but you will also become more cosmopolitan, as a multilingual person will develop a different form of self-expression in each language. In addition to being better listeners (as they have to listen to improve their own speaking abilities), multilingual people are also better readers, and will be able to comprehend a wider variety of literature. Their cultural knowledge will also aid in their travels, be it part of their job or not.

Multilingualism opens up a different world and offers fresh, interesting new perspectives of other nations, as well as personal benefits. It enhances communication skills and cognitive ability, and fosters a love of learning and a love of culture. Don’t underestimate the power of language; see what it can do for you, and start now. mfang@apachepowwow.com

Graphic courtesy of AMAZONAWS.COM

Traditions: We wear green because supporters of Irish independence used the color green to represent their cause and strengthen the idea of Ireland’s national identity. We wear shamrocks on St. Patrick’s Day because it’s to celebrate the rebirth of the Earth as well as how St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Christian belief of the Three Holy Trinities.

Myths Busted: St. Patrick’s real name was Maewyn Succat. St. Patrick was also not born in Ireland. He was actually born somewhere near the English regions (there are numerous interpretations) around the year 390.

He was actually born into an aristocratic Christian family that owned a townhouse, country villa, and a sufficient number of slaves. However, he had no interest in being a Christian.

Studies have also shown that the belief that St. Patrick banished snakes from the Emerald Isle may actually just be speculation. Water has surrounded Ireland since the last glacial period, which

prevents snakes from slithering over. Years before that, Ireland was covered in ice and was too cold for the cold-blooded creatures.

Corned beef was also not a classic St. Patrick’s Day dish. In the late 19th century, the Irish immigrants that resided in New York City’s lower east side supposedly substituted corned beef that they bought from their Jewish neighbors in order to save money. However, a type of bacon that is similar to ham is the primary protein that’s widely available on the Emerald Isle.

clee@apachepowwow.com

Graphics courtesy of DREAMSTIME.COM and BLOGSPOT.COM

10

PERFORMING ARTS

By CELINE LEE Staff Writer

“This is America babe. gotta think big to be big.”

Advance Drama Department (ADD) along with Intermediate Theatre presented Hairspray as their spring showcase. Hairspray is a story about an ambitious teenager named, Tracy Turnblad, who defied all odds of the 60’s in order to integrate the small town of Baltimore after landing a spot on a local TV show. The entire production was a never-ending roller coaster of comedy with a sprinkle of You

romance here and there. Most importantly, the play highlighted the struggles of students trying to fit in, the outcome of chasing after one’s dreams, and how youngsters can make a difference in the world. Furthermore, Hairspray highlighted “body image, gender roles, [the] transgender community, racism, classism, feminism, and so much more in such a satirical way,” said ADD member senior Lena Atchan.

Members developed characters that were distinct and portrayed appropriately. ADD member senior Stephen De La Guerra played the mother of Tracy Turnblad. The sweet and innocent Penny Pingleton, beautifully portrayed

by ADD member junior Meghan Pender, had a resonant voice when she sang. Last but not least, Lena played

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Tracy Turnblad. Every time Lena opened her mouth, a beautiful melody came out. Lena’s unique and powerful voice made a lasting impression on the audiences. The main cast was outstanding; however, it couldn’t have done that without the support of the supporting cast. The supporting characters and background dancers truly drew out 1960’s vibe through the way they’re dressed as well as by their every actions.

Despite all of the hard work and hours that the ADD and Intermediate Theatre members had invested into this production, they loved every moment of it. ADD member senior Sean Monje said that “seeing the audience appreciate the cast’s work the way they did was just amazing.” Numerous dance numbers accompanied by countless

March 2015

numbers of melodies, every song and choreography was rehearsed to perfection. The theater members also learned several things from portraying their characters from Hairspray.

Lena stated, “Playing Tracy and living as a Turnblad for the past four months has made me a kinder, more understanding person.”

Our theater members displayed an undying passion for acting. They wanted their fellow students to know what it’s like to love something and chase after your dreams. Intermediate Theatre member sophomore Zechariah Karsana said, “Following your dreams can be scary, but to be truly successful in life is to do what you love. You never know what you’re capable of.” While this production may have ended, both ADD as well as Intermediate Theatre have a few upcoming plays over the course of the next few months!

Be sure to go out and support them! clee@apachepowwow.com

Graphics courtesy of COLLEGE. UNC.EDU, DEVIANTART.COM, GROSH.COM, IMGBUDDY.COM, and POTOMACSTATECOLLEGE.EDU

Spring Break in Florida

By JACQUELINE CHANG

Staff Writer

Spring Break is coming up soon, and students are preparing to relax and sleep in or finally start on an English reading assignment that procrastination dismissed. However, it is an entirely different story for the members of Orchestra, Harmonix, Chanteurs, Concert Choir, and Orchesis. This spring break, the members of the mentioned Performing Arts (PA) groups have been invited to perform at the Heritage Festival in Orlando, Florida. These students will be having the time of their lives for an entire week, with their second family all the way across the country.

The trip will span over eight days, four of which will be spent at Disney World. It’s a wonderful break for these PA members and an experience they will remember for a long, long time. Many years from now, these performers will remember this trip and marvel at how lucky they were to be able to go to Florida and how happy they were there. The time there will give the students a taste of freedom and independence.

With a trip of this magnitude, these PA members are going crazy with excitement and cannot wait to board that plane to Florida.

Sophomore Tiffany Wong, a member of Chanteurs, is “really excited to perform at the Ep-

cot Center and to go to the amusement parks.

[She’s] also been looking forward to watching Orchesis and Orchestra.” Another member of Chanteurs, sophomore Lydia Jenson, added that she can’t wait to “spend more time with all [her] new choir friends while doing what [they] love together.” Orchesis Captain senior Sabrina Banos had the same thought, saying that she couldn’t be happier to “spend a whole week with [her] Orchesis family and to perform on new stages in front of new crowds.” Sabrina then added that she’s thrilled about Disney World and Universal Studios, and “Harry Potter Land for sure.”

Looks like the PA members of Orchestra, Harmonix, Chanteurs, Concert Choir, and Orchesis have a lot to be thankful for this Spring Break with the Florida trip coming up and their close friends to spend it with. Especially with the amusement parks involved, they are extremely lucky to have this opportunity across the country to do something they love and try out Harry Potter Land’s renowned butterbeer while they are at it. Let’s wish them safe travel and some good luck on their performances. jchang@apachepowwow.com

Graphics courtesy of ADUPHOTO.COM, CANSTOCKPHOTO.COM, and PINTEREST.COM

Music Genres: What do They Say About Personalities?

By KYLE WANG Staff Writer

What genre of music do you prefer? Do you like listening to classical music? Maybe rock n’ roll music from the 1950s. Perhaps even K-pop from your favorite group. According to Professor Adrian North, an expert on human psychology, of Heriot-Watt University, the type of music you listen to can usually tell you about your personality and childhood influences. Here are some descriptions of different music genres; see if your personality matches with your favorite music genre!

Metal/Punk: People who like metal or punk music are often outgoing and very expressive of their feelings. Although believed to be a type of bad influence during the late 60s, it has since gained widespread popularity for its unique rhythm.

Contrary to popular belief, people who like listening to metal/punk musics aren’t all “punks”; you are not aggressive or violent.

Classical Music: People who like this kind of music are usually reserved and calm. Besides being a little introverted, classical music lovers tend to be creative and curious. Because of the peaceful nature of this genre, many people who have insomnia listen to this type of music to fall asleep.

In correlation with the relaxing characteristic of classical music, fans of this style are said to be more at ease with themselves and their surroundings.

Country and Western Songs: Yes, some of Taylor Swift songs are in-

cluded in this category. If country or western music is your preferance, then you’re a hardworker and outgoing. Since most country songs are about heartache, researches found that emotionally stable people are drawn to this genre.

Besides being an extrovert, you could also be considered conventional; doing out-of-theblue and weird actions may not suit you.

Dance Pop: Perhaps the most prominent genre of music for the teen generation is dance pop. Pop songs are liked by many people for their catchy tunes, prominent choruses, and the dance moves that goes along with them. Most dance pop songs are chart-toppers and the ones constantly being played on the radio. Someone who’s obsessed with this genre is outgoing and honest. He or she is also assertive in his or her own choices and decisions. Lastly, to be able to sing and dance along to their favorite songs like dorks. fans of dance pop have high self-esteem and will not be swayed by other people’s opinions.

In the end, it doesn’t matter whether or not you like punk or classical music. They certainly portray our external influences, but our personalities are unique. You can’t be judged based on the type of music you listen to. kwang@apachepowwow.com

Graphics courtesy of CLIPARTBEST.COM, FOTOSEARCH.COM, and HOW-TO-DRAWFUNNY-CARTOONS.COM

arcadiaperformingarts@gmail.com

March 2015

By ROY ZHANG Staff Writer

The LA Opera continues to bring the local play lovers the Trilogy of Figaro, this time performing The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution. A light-hearted play that has its dramatic moments, The Barber of Seville tells the tale of a pair of star-crossed lovers separated by a dastardly doctor. Although this play does count as a trilogy, you do not have to be well acquainted with the other plays in order to understand the plot.

All three plays are centered around a clever man named Figaro; however, none of his stories overlap. In essence, each play shows a different scenario, completely isolated from the other ones. The only similarity is that there is a clever man named Figaro.

The Barber of Seville is one of Rossini’s greatest works, and many attest to it being the greatest comedy within music. Even now, 200 years after its first performance, The Barber of Seville still demonstrates elegance and the skill of playwriting. Ironically, this play was received poorly by the audience the first time it went on stage. Many felt that this play was an affront to another popular play-

By ELLIE LEE

PERFORMING ARTS 11

wright named Giovani Paisiello. On opening night, many of his supporters came to Rossini’s opening night and booed throughout the performance. To worsen the situation, the play was barely ready and the actors were underprepared. It was a recipe for disaster. Needless to say, Rossini’s timeless performance was never revered the way it is today.

Although the introduction

is the love interest of not only Bartolo, but another character named Almaviva. The plot would have gone nowhere if it weren’t for Figaro the Barber, who supposedly knows about all the secrets and gossip around town.

Fortunately for Almaviva, Figaro agrees to aid him in securing Rosina’s heart. A majority of the play consists of Almaviva deceiv-

is quite confusing, since most of the characters are all brought in within a couple of minutes, you get the grasp of things after a while.

Once the viewer establishes who is who, the plot is quite simple. There is a damsel in distress that is being kept captive by a doctor by the name of Bartolo. The damsel, Rosina,

ing Bartolo in order to get closer and closer to Rosina; in many cases, Almaviva would disguise himself as another person and gain entrance to Bartolo’s estate. As cliche as it may seem, Bartolo would always somehow foil Almaviva’s disguise and run him out of his property. The turning point of the story

All In for Spring Concert

would have to be when Almaviva’s disguise as Rosina’s music tutor causes Bartolo to spiral down into a violent rage. Motivated by anger, Bartolo demands that Rosina marry him that very night. Now it becomes a battle against the clock as Bartolo sends for a notary, Almaviva desperately attempts to reach Rosina through her balcony. Prior to this, Figaro had snatched away Bartolo’s keys so Almaviva would be able to gain entrance to Rosina’s locked balcony window. As the two lovers unite, Bartolo bursts through the door with the notary along side Basillo, who was Rosina’s original music tutor. The uncomfortable show down ends up with threats and bribes towards Bartolo, and all ends well as Bartolo, grudgingly, agrees to act witness to the marriage between Almaviva and Rosina.

Although confusing at times as characters continuously disguised themselves as another, the plot was not difficult to follow.

Furthermore, it proved quite enjoyable and thrilling as the audience had to continuously wait and see what would happen to Rosina. Despite being lackluster in originality, the story of The Barber of Seville was an enjoyable show to experience. rzhang@apachepowwow.com

Graphic courtesy of IMGUR.COM Photos courtesy of ARTSBEATLA.COM, LATIMES.COM, OCREGISTER.COM, and WORLDALLDETAILS.COM

Not Just Singing

By EILEEN LEE Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Orchestra has many things in store for it. Before members can embark on their Florida trip next month, on Mar. 26, Orchestra 1 and 2 will be performing at the PAC for their annual Spring Concert! What are some students’ thoughts and comments on the Spring Concert?

Orchestra 1 Concertmaster freshman Stella Cho remarked that members “needed to stay together and to [stop] pushing or dragging the tempo.” Stella also explained that Orchestra 1 “needed to work on watching the conductor,” since the conductor is the one that keeps the orchestra together.

Orchestra 2 Concertmaster sophomore Leann Lu believed if Orchestra 2 members listened “to other sections while [they] played [their] individual parts and [synced the] melodies with the harmonies,” then the ensemble would sound “more as a whole.” She added, “ If [students] also practiced on their own for at about 30 minutes each day, then it would benefit [their] rehearsals [greatly] and allow [members] to add style to [their] music instead of just learning it.”

Sophomore Tiger Sun said, “I’m looking forward to seeing all the hard work being paid off during the Spring Concert.

With all the sectionals and full group rehearsals, it’ll be great to perform the best that [Orchestra members] can and bring the world of music to life to the audience as well as on the upcoming tour to Florida.”

Senior Ryan Luu replied that Orchestra members will make sure to practice in sectionals to get better at the portions of the scores that they’re not too familiar with. Ryan stated, “Overall, just hard work from everyone in Orchestra.”

Orchestra members definitely are preparing diligently to showcase their best at their Spring Concert. Good luck Orchestra 1 and 2!

Lately, Chanteurs had been very busy with preparing upcoming new events and two competitions that took place in the beginning of March.

According to junior Veronica Wang, this month has been pretty tough with rigorous practice schedules. She said, “Chanteurs members were very busy planning and getting ready for the events these few weeks. It has been really stressful knowing that members only have a certain amount of time before they go on stage, because Chanteurs wants its performance to be absolutely flawless.” However, Veronica is sure that every member of Chanteurs will pull through. Since Chanteurs has always done a great job, she “had no doubt Chanteurs would succeed again!”

Junior Stephanie Zhang stated that she was very “nervous, because the group had to prepare for multiple competitions at once in such a short period of time.” Furthermore, Chanteurs seemed to be a very small group compared to performing groups from other high schools. “However, I had faith in the team that if [members] practiced hard, [they] could create a stage full of energy. Chanteurs doesn’t need to be a big group; it’s the effort and determination that matters.”

Chanteurs practiced very hard for its competitions and upcoming events, inside and outside of school, to ensure it put on flawless performances. With talented, driven, and passionate members in Chanteurs, we have no doubt that they will once again put on a breathtaking show!

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Graphic courtesy of BLOGSPOT.COM

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Graphic courtesy of CLIPARTPANDA.COM

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TO WRITE LOVE

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March 2015

Mission Statement

HOPE AND FINDING HELP FOR PEOPLE STRUGGLING WITH DEPRESSION, ADDICTION, SELF-INJURY, AND SUICIDE. TWLOHA EXISTS TO ENCOURAGE, INFORM, INSPIRE, AND ALSO TO INVEST DIRECTLY INTO TREATMENT AND RECOVERY.

Vision

The vision is that we actually believe these things: You were created to love and be loved.

You need to know your story is important, and you’re part of a bigger story.

You need to know your life matters.

We live in a difficult world, a broken world. We believe everyone can relate to pain, all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments. You need to know you’re not alone in the places you feel stuck.

We all wake to the human condition. We wake to mystery and beauty, but also to tragedy and loss. Millions of people live with problems of pain. Millions of homes are filled with questions—moments, and seasons, and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay. We know pain is very real. It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real and help is real.

into treatment. In desperate moments, people calling a suicide hotline. We know the first step toward recovery is the hardest to take. We want to say here that it’s worth it, your life is worth fighting for, it’s possible to change.

Beyond treatment, we believe community is essential. People need other people. We were never meant to do life alone.

The vision is that community, hope, and help would replace secrets and silence.

The vision is people putting down guns, and blades, and bottles.

The vision is that we can reduce the suicide rate in America and around the world.

The vision is that we would learn what it means to love our friends, and we would love ourselves enough to get the help we need. a child, a sunrise. The vision is people becoming incredible parents, breaking cycles, making changes.

The vision is the possibility that your best days are ahead.

The vision is the possibility that we’re more loved than we’ll ever know.

The vision is hope, and hope is real.

You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story.

TWLOHA Founder

March 2015

centerspread.powwow@gmail.com

ON HER ARMS

To refuse to Write

13

life slip

to save anothe r day

Love

is themoveme

nt

On

s h o u ld b e r e H arms love writt en e l b i oss

p Arms because rescue to help

Graphics courtesy of TWLOHA.COM

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March 2015

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16

STUDENT LIFE

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March 2015

Memoirs of Two Juniors

The Missing Link

By EMILY SCHUBE

By BRIANA SHEN & KELSEA JEON Staff Writer

Performing Arts Editor & Guest Writer

Hey incoming juniors and seniors! The end of your high school career is just around the corner, but doesn’t it seem like it was just yesterday that you were a clueless freshman? Of course, Link Crew was there to help with those times and as part of tradition, they are looking for new leaders.

Link Crew applications for the 2015-2016 school year are out, and the organization is looking for fresh new applicants. As a leader, you will host the freshmen orientation and help familiarize them with the campus. Dr. Blotzer, the Link Crew advisor, explained. “We are looking for students that are enthusiastic and fun, that get involved in different activities like band, drama, athletics. You definitely need good communication and organization skills.” Still have questions? Feeling skeptical? Here are some current leaders speaking out about their Link Crew experience.

What’s it like being a Link Crew Leader?

It’s extremely fun! The atmosphere of the class is so chill, and I love having lunch meetings with my freshmen. I know some people might not want to join, because they feel too shy, but we accept a whole [variety] of personalities!”

—Shirley Liu, 11, Link Crew Leader Does this look good for college applications?

“This is one of those classes that looks really good on college applications. The mentoring and the leadership skills can be put on college applications and even on your resume. But more than that it is something that helps out our school.”

—Dr. Blotzer Is it hard balancing Link Crew and other classes?

“To be honest, I had a really challenging schedule my junior year, and I don’t think I could have pulled through withour Link Crew. My Link family was always there for me when I needed support during finals and I looked forward to seeing them every day.” —Maggie Liu, 12, Link Crew Leader How is it handling the incoming freshmen?

“Handling the freshmen is interesting, I would say. Each year, the freshmen personalities differ, so we learn to adapt to how the freshmen respond. But once we break the ice and bond with them, there are great friendships in return.”

—Celine Gee, 12, Link Crew Leader Is it really worth it?

“Link Crew is such a great organization and the things you get to experience in this class are unforgettable and kind of once in a lifetime. It’s a great opportunity to meet new people and help others. You learn so much about leadership and working together in this class, and the knowledge you gain stays with you.” —Celine Gee, 12, Link Crew leader If you’re interested in joining Link Crew, visit the AHS website and print the application there.

Remember to turn it in by Apr. 2 by 12:45 p.m!

It was still dark outside when the journey started, one that would take members of Arcadia PTA, Ms. Carolyn Prater, Ms. Rachel Estuar, Ms. Janet Chew, and Ms. Jane Garzona, and both of us juniors to Sacramento. We took off at Bob Hope International Airport on Feb. 9, ready for an experience that would expose us to the governor’s budget plan for schools and how it would affect California’s education system.

Once we arrived to Sacramento, we headed to PTA’s conference room and joined the rest of Arcadia’s team. In the conference room, Kelsea and I were able to meet California State’s PTA board members and were surrounded by dozens of parents and teachers who were passionate about making a difference in the lives of students and their education. Speakers addressed topics ranging from advocating for more funding for California’s education system to implementing the new Common Core standards and the Smarter Balanced tests. To us, the most inspiring speaker was Ron Bennett, Chief Executive Officer of School Services of California, a man who lobbied for education reforms. He was an animated speaker who committed all the statistics and information he presented to memory.

Bennett mentioned that although California ranks as the world’s 8th largest economy, it ranks 46th in the nation for its education.

As shocking as this was, however, Bennett explained that there was a solution to California’s poorly ranking schools. Overall, the California’s budget plan supplied money for schools that needed more funding, but only offered a meager amount, not nearly enough to make significant improvements.

The solution lied in local control of funds.

As interesting as the budget was, the best part of the two-day conference was visiting the State Capitol building on Tuesday. We heard California State Assembly members and Senators speak about funding for education, among the other causes they advocated for, and there were many different viewpoints: those who wanted less money to be allocated to schools and those who wanted more money for schools. The different perspectives were a trend that even occurred when Arcadia PTA members spoke privately with Senators Carol Liu and Ed Hernandez and Assembly member Ed Chau. As a former educator, Senator Liu was sympathetic towards Arcadia’s cause for providing funding for the base. When we spoke to her from a student’s perspective, we addressed the problem of cutting ROP and ROTC programs with the little funding provided for Arcadia schools in the base funds whereas other schools would get a supplement fund. However, not all the representatives were as understanding as Senator Liu. Senator Hernandez had a brief meeting with our PTA group, which consisted of faculty, parents, and even Assistant Superintendent Wilson, but Senator Hernandez also displayed only firm opposition to Arcadia’s need for funding the base. Shortly after our meeting with Senator Hernandez, our group met with Assembly member Ed Chau last. When asked how Arcadia is working to solve issues with funding, we replied, “If the parents support Arcadia schools by passing a tax providing school funding, the teachers take a cut to their salaries opposed to letting Arcadia have more furlough days, and the students self-fund for many organizations on campus, and we’re still falling short, then we need help because our resources have been scrapped to the bare minimum.”

It was truly inspiring to see how close-knit Arcadia is as a community, and how staff members were willing to make sacrifices for their fellow faculty. Our experience at Sacramento was truly eye-opening because we learned the value of community unity and felt moved by the passion for education. Not everyone carried the same viewpoints as us, but we were able to fight for our opinions to be heard. bshen@apachepowwow.com Photo courtesy of ARCADIA PTA

eschube@apachepowwow.com Photo courtesy of JANICE CHANG

LOOKING FOR THE MISSING LINK The Link Crew squad poses for a group photo.

Link Crew hopes to recruit more members for the 2015-2016 school year.

March 2015

studentlife@apachepowwow.com

STUDENT LIFE 17

Who Says High Schoolers Can’t Game?

By SHAWN XING Staff Writer

Games? Aren’t high schoolers too old for those? Apparently not, as AHS students testify.

Remember the old days of Super Mario Bros, Pokemon, Final Fantasy, and Super Smash Brothers? While many people may have left those games in the past, many others have also adopted new favorite games geared more toward the teenage population, most involving battle and multi-player games, first-person shooters, and thirdperson shooters.

To name a few, League of Legends, CounterStrike, Maple Story, Call of Duty, and Hearth Stone are video games that are extremely popular within this decade. Some AHS students took the time to share their favorite video games and what playing video games means to them.

Junior Andy Tzeng shared that he plays League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, Age of Empires, and Call of Duty 3. Out of this list, Andy’s favorite game is League of Legends, which is “a multiplayer strategy

battle arena game. In this game, you get to pick a champion, each with different abilities. The objective of the game is to work with your teammates and kill monsters and opposing champions to either force the enemy to surrender or destroy their base.” Andy explained that it is a great game to play with friends due to the communication and teamwork needed to make the game both “intense and rewarding” when won. Andy watches competitive professional matches online on the weekends with friends, and believes “gaming should be considered a sport because like any other sport, it requires intensive training, practice, and teamwork.”

He explained, “Professional players often practice against other teams for up to 12 hours a day, and the stress and publicity goes along with it.” Ultimately, the most rewarding part of gaming to him

is bonding with friends and having fun.

Senior Samuel Huang listed Hearthstone, Grand Theft Auto V, and League of Legends as his most commonly played and favorite video games.

He described Hearthstone as an online collectible card game, where you try to build decks that can defeat your opponents. He does have limited competitive video game experience, having played competitive Dominion, which is a game mode within League of Legends, for a little bit.

Samuel believes that Esports is an appropriate term for competitive video gaming, but that video games will not be considered a “sport like football as there’s no physical exertion.”

Samuel said he plays video games to bond with friends and to relax, but according to his parents, he plays too often and should concentrate more on his schoolwork.

Junior Tommy Li also plays first person shooter games such as Battlefield 3 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, commonly known as CS:GO. Tommy doesn’t play CS:GO competitively or participate in tournaments, as he said he plays it to just “relax and have fun,” while in competitive CS:GO, the matches get “very intense and very close.” Tommy does like to play CS:GO with his friends and considers it a valuable bonding experience.

Whether it is League of Legends, Counter-Strike, or Hearthstone, AHS students play video games for a variety of reasons. Most find playing games as a great way to bond with friends and get away from the stress of school.

Although AHS students are most well-known for their high achievements in academics and services to their community, many find time despite their busy schedules to sit down, and play some games. sxing@apachepowwow.com Graphics courtesy of DEVIANTART.COM and LEAGUEOFLEGENDS.COM

What’s On Your Bucket List? more exciting than anything else. Besides his appreciation of its “serene beauty,” Ryan dreams to explore space to see life from a new The term “bucket list” is said to have perspective. To him, journeying into space is a originated from the idiom “kicking the buck- way to “witness life in an utterly different way.” et”, or dying. Hence, a bucket list is a list of For junior Kristen Wang, going dogexperiences a person wants to have or ac- sledding with her family is on the top of her complish before his or her lifetime. Through- bucket list. She revealed that her busy schedout this month, Apaches revealed the number ule prevents her from spending time with her one item on their bucket list, and discussed family and because their reasons for choosing their specific item. of this, she wishes According to senior Ryan Ong, jour- “to have a unique neying into space is the number one thing on vacation with his bucket list. He claimed that he spent his them.” Since her childhood pouring through numerous space family all loves books, dreaming about what life would be dogs, Kristen belike among the stars. As he grew up, his pas- lieves that dogsion for space continued. He described space sledding would be as “an adventure,” or “an uncharted world” the perfect bonding experience.

She cited Alaska as the spot she would like to dog-sled, for she has never been there before and would like to go.

As a person who loves to travel, sophomore Harrison Yue chose taking a world cruise as the number one item on his bucket list. He revealed his dream SHOOTING STAR Senior Ryan Ong of exploring all the different parts of the sees outer space as the final frontier. world with his future wife and kids. The

By EMILY WU

Staff Writer

reason he loves traveling, explained Harrison, is because he enjoys “seeing for [himself] what makes the Earth so special of a place to live in.”

When asked about which place he would especially like to visit during his 80 days at sea, he pondered for a brief moment. “I would love to go to Europe to take a stroll on a gondola,” answered Harrison. He joked, “I’m such a romanticist.”

Freshman Mia Harder named base jumping as the main item on her bucket list. Essentially, base jumping is like sky diving but from a cliff. There has been controversy over the risk of base jumping, but Mia views it as “another genre of sports that no one really acknowledges.” One of the main reasons she wants to base jump is to experience the feeling of success.

“Base jumping would give me a huge sense of accomplishment,” explained Mia, “especially knowing that I just jumped off a distance that few [people] would even dare to risk.” Accord-

ing to Mia, base jumping would also allow her to live in the moment. She believes that while base jumping, she would be forced to forget about the past, and would only be able to focus on the present.

With a school of over 3,000 students, it’s natural that everyone has different things on their bucket list. Given, some people don’t even have a bucket list. Nevertheless, it’s important to discover what you truly want to do in your lifetime, and aspire to do the things you are passionate for.

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Graphic courtesy of HEWSTATIC.COM Photos by BRITTANIE GAJA and DEREK LEE

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The AHS Franken-Athlete

By CHRISTINA READ Staff Writer

March 2015

Boys Tennis A

As anyone who plays a team sport can attest, no single person can carry an entire team to victory by him or herself. A winning team requires the skills of every player, meshed together to form one cohesive and multi-talented whole. But what if one player could have all the skills needed to succeed? Obviously, in real life, nobody’s completely perfect. But this isn’t real life.

This is Pow Wow. That’s why, this month, we’re going to build one amazing AHS superstar, combining the best traits of some of Arcadia’s top athletes to produce a winning combination.

Arms: Caira Benton Senior Caira Benton is the leader for every single stat of the Girls Varsity Basketball team, from total points scored to blocks per game. She also holds the AHS school record for most rebounds in a single game, and last year, was awarded the honor of all-League first team. Since her freshman year, Caira has been leading the Apache basketball program to victory.

Legs: Michaela Cappello Senior Michaela Cappello played her fourth year for the Girls Varsity Soccer team this past season, as well as helping to lead the team as a captain. Her work as a defender last year earned her the title of all-League second team. This fall, Michaela

committed to attend and play for St. Edwards University of Austin, Texas.

Strength: Fernando Rosales Senior Fernando Rosales plays for the Boys Varsity Baseball team as an outfielder and as a pitcher, throwing the ball at an incredible 90 mph.

He also participated in Arcadia’s football program as both an offensive and defensive player. Last year, he hit three home runs and was named to all-League first team for baseball.

Versatility: Kelly Dopke Senior Kelly Dopke was not just the captain for Girls Varsity Soccer this year, but also one of the Pacific League Co-Players of the Year for Girls Varsity Volleyball, and last year’s MVP for Track and Field. This

senior has proven herself to be capable of an extremely high level of play in not just one, but three different sports.

Stamina: Phillip Rocha Junior Phillip Rocha has easily established himself as one of the best runners ever in Arcadia Cross Country history. His exceptional endurance and diligence have made him not only the State champion, but also the number one runner in all of the U.S., winning the National Junior Olympics for his age group by almost a full minute. What’s more astounding is that Phillip has earned all these accolades and records with still a year left of high school.

Speed: Sarah Troescher Junior Sarah Troescher is one of AHS’ top sprinters for Track and Field. Last year, she set the school record for the 100m with a time of 12.22 seconds while under the bright lights at the Pacific League Finals. Sarah also ranks 3rd in school history for the fastest 200m time at 25.62 seconds.

With the skills of these six athletes, the AHS Franken-player could easily lead our teams to victory in any sport—yes, maybe even singlehandedly. Unfortunately, we don’t have any mad scientists around who are willing to put this all together (Any volunteers?). Instead, Arcadia will just have to stick to our tried-and-tested formula of teamwork and cread@apachepowwow.com

Track and Field Warms Up majority of its best athletes have all graduated, leaving the remainStaff Writer ing members to pick up the slack.

A new season means new goals “That’s one of our weaker areas, esand ambitions. The AHS’ Track pecially for our Varsity Boys Track and Field team has decided to set and Field team,” concluded Falcon. its goals much higher than before. Joanna was more optimistic and The team has been setting personal stated, “I think there isn’t really any records at insane rates, beating them weaknesses because the track team with ease year after year. system is pretty good.”

The track team’s goals this However, the team has its obyear are unified. vious strengths.

Freshman Jo“We are all united anna Lin said the and can push each team’s goal is to other,” explained “work together as Falcon.

“Also, a team and win as we do have fast many track meets sprinters.” Joanna as possible.” agreed and added, Sophomore Fal“Multiple people con Chakrabarty are competing believed that the against each other team’s goal is in one event, yet much simpler and [they] still enthat it is to “get THROUGH THE FINISH courage each othon the field and L I N E Senior Isabel Annino er to do well.” sprint until you prepares to leap over another hurdle With a histocollapse.” He also while entering the home stretch. ry of success and added that the team will “train hard talented athletes, Track and Field is during practices and workout in the well prepared to defend its status as weight room to get big and fast be- a perennial Pacific League Chamcause more power will equal more pion. speed.” alim@apachepowwow.com Despite the team’s distinct Photo courtesy of goals, Falcon added that the major weakness of the team is that the LEONARD COUTIN

By ANDREW LIM

SERVING UP GREAT PERFORMANC

Varsity Tennis has shown no signs of slowing dow

By PEARL YANG

Their season may have just begun, but, with a s Boys Varsity Tennis team are now warming up for wh This year’s team welcomed a handful of underc Graphic courtesy of BLOGSPOT.COM Young, talented players are powerful weapons aga need to work on communicating clearly and effecti tennis shoes, recent additions to the team will nee “getting to know each other better” is a key comp ing team members, and thus improving the team “some of the new players on the team are reall the talented new athletes will showcase their st Club on Mar. 2. Although it did not

By PETER JU the most crucial competition for the team: the finish in the top three, there were plenStaff Writer Last year, the Boys Varsity Tennis team ty of bright spots to pull from it. Also, it that the team is placed in Division II instea The AHS Boys Varsity Golf is just the first tournament of the season. that this year’s team’s performance will im Team had a strong, solid season last Junior Jeremy Chieng said about run. Players on the team have varying asp year, finishing by winning the Pacific this season, “Our team goals are to qualify tennis season and this nerve-wracking to League Championships and mak- for CIF and improve as a team. My goal “team will win League Championships ing it into the CIF Team Divisional this season is to play my best and keep my playoffs”, while Stanley hopes to “wi Championships. Its 5-1 League re- mental game strong throughout [the year].” people from Arcadia qualify for CIF In cord helped it secure its League tiJunior Anthony Chiang talked about So far, Boys Varsity Tennis is k tle. The boys hope to build on their season aspirations. “My individual goal is to with its skills in League matches. Th positives from last season to improve make it to CIF Individuals. As a team, we hope on Feb. 24 against Hoover High Sch their performances for this year. to make it past the first round of CIF.” competition with the goal of adding Senior William Oetojo gave his With a strong mental game paired with an to kick off their season, and their thoughts on this incoming season. abundance of talent, our Boys Varsity Golf team crushed the opposition from HHS “As a team, we want to not only pre- has the potential to repeat as League Champions.

2. The next week on Mar. 3, the serve the prestige of our name but at Pasadena High School whic also to move on even further into 18-0. This trend of a perfect CIF. As an individual, I also want to pju@apachepowwow.com Mar. 5 when AHS faced off a make it further into CIF and be the Photo courtesy of VAMSI DAMERLA and once again defeated the true role model my team can look CHIP ON THEIR SHOULDERS Senior Vamsi Keep up the outstanding rec to. For strengths, we are an amazLeague matches are u ingly talented team and extremely Damerla and the rest of the team aim for domination. on the team have set a hi competitive. We will do whatever we ments this year. Neal asp can to keep winning. For weaknesses, successful as a team” and we are really competitive, and some[the team] can [play] th times too much so. We have to learn while Stanley thought to have fun on the course, whether good shot to make it f we’re winning by a lot or a little.

Best of luck to Boys That way, we will be able to enjoy the season! sport a lot more and also to keep our composure when things aren’t going pyang@apach our way.”

Boys Varsity Golf played in the Photo by MIL Graphics c Rio Mesa High School Invitational in Camarillo at Spanish Hills Country WILSO

Hitting For The Green

March 2015

19

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Acing Its Debut

Softball Up and Swinging Boys Volleyball

games. Katelyn also believes that she and her teammates “need to play better defense” in practice in order to properly Staff Writers prepare themselves for games against Members of our Girls Varsity Softball team any future opponents. Bunting or offenplan to start off their season strong with their first sive play is another skill she mentioned pre-season game against Monrovia High School that the team needs to work on. Howev(MHS) on Mar. 31. Freshman Susan Harrison is er, Katelyn is confident that the team as “super excited” for this upcoming game and thinks a whole will perform better after practicthat her team “is prepared” to take on MHS’ softball ing together, stating, “once we practice team by “playing the best that [they] can.” more, we’ll be able to do well.”

For the past couple of months now, the Girls VarThe team hopes to take part in a sity Softball players have done their best to ensure that great season this year through dedicathey’ll be in top condition for their upcoming games. By tion and hard work during practice sesengaging in rigorous exercises and practice drills after sions and actual games. Junior Amanda school, they showcase Chaney stated that she and not only a passion for her fellow teammates’ the sport, but also a drive goals are to, “work hard to succeed in it. in order to make it as far Freshman Hermay as [they] can in CIF this Mathiew stated that the year” and to try “to build girls recently participated in a [tighter] connection with a simple scrimmage against one another” much like Rancho High School (RHS) they have done in previto prepare for the season. The ous years. Amanda goes CES Junior Kevin Yang reaches back for a serve. Boys Girls Varsity Softball team exon to explain that although wn from its red hot start to the season. pressed great determination and the girls work hard as a resilience throughout the scrimteam during practice, they mage, but ended up on the wrong also try “to have some side of the scoreboard. Despite fun” whenever they play Staff Writer losing that particular match against together because to them, RHS, Hermay believes that all the enjoying the sport they girls “gave a tough fight” for their first strong record dominated by wins, the members of the love is just as important as time stepping out as a team this season. hat could be one of their most successful runs yet. winning.

Last year, Girls Varsity Softball classmen, which proved to be a double-edged sword.

Girls Varsity Softmanaged to exhibit great chemistry both ainst formidable opponents, but the team will also ball plans to start off the on and off the field, contributing to the DRIVING THE BALLJuniorStephanie season strong by workively with the newcomers. Similar to a new pair of girls’ success. Senior Ashley Rosales com- Wang and Girls Varsity Softball have had ing hard, being dedicated, ed a “break in” period. For sophomore Brian Kim, no trouble producing runs. mented that this “team has great chemistry” ponent in forming bonds between new and returnand striving to become the which allows the girls to “have each other’s backs” during games. According to m’s performance as a whole. On the other hand, best. The girls will be sure to showcase her, one of the team’s greatest strengths is that “everyone brings something to the ly good”, senior Stanley Lim stated. Hopefully, some tremendous talent this year as they table” and that the girls are able to “feed off of each other’s energy” when it comes strengths when competing against opponents in go against other schools in their quest to making a play out on the field. e CIF playoffs that occur after League games. for that elusive CIF title.

Throughout this year, the girls have made sure to work on their pitching and hitm lost in the first round of CIF. However, now ting which are key to winning in softball. Senior Katelyn Morreale commented that the elee@apachepowwow.com ad of Division I, there is a favorable chance ltrajano@apachepowwow.com team can be “weak in pitching and at situational hitting.” Because of this, pitchers and mprove greatly from last year’s postseason Photo courtesy of DYLAN SHEN hitters on the team have worked hard on their own to improve their skills for upcoming pirations for their performances during the ournament. Junior Neal Goyal hoped his s” and that “[it will] go far into the CIF in CIF as a team and to have multiple ndividuals.” knocking its opponents off of its feet plays the top teams in Division II and Pete Rose. He always played hard and

By SHAWN XING he first game of the boys’ season was is always a considerable competitor really left everything he had out on the Staff Writer hool (HHS). The boys went into the for League championship. Despite field,” Matthew stated. g an emphatic win into their record Senior Matthew Jung is the lead-off batter the competitive atmosphere, Matthew Besides baseball, Matthew is goal was definitely fulfilled. AHS for the Boys Varsity Baseball team. Matthew was considers the team to be like a big also an Eagle Scout, a member of SeS with an astounding score of 16first introduced to baseball when his parents signed family. Matthew commented, “I’ve nior Men and Women, and most defiteam had another League match him up to play T-ball at the young age of 4-years-old. had many exciting and memorable nitely a hard-working student. “I grew ch it unapologetically defeated Ever since then, Matthew has dedicated himself to the moments during my baseball career. up juggling many responsibilities. winning streak continued on sport of baseball. His personal goal for this season is The best moments are spent traveling Whether it’d be sports, music, scouts, against Ganesha High School to “help the team in any way possible, whether it be and playing alongside my teammates church, or school, I’ve learned that e team with a score of 18-0. MULTI-FACETED MATT every year. I consider each and every time management is key,” explained Senior Matthew Jung cord! one of them my brothers.” In addition Matthew. During Matthew’s freshman sets an example for others on and off the field. under way, and the players to being part his second family, Mat- year, it became routine for him to stay igh bar for their achieveleading the offense, driving thew’s teammates are also the people at school until 9:00 p.m. everyday bepired to “stay strong and in runs, playing outfield, or that inspire Matthew to continue to cause of Band. Eventually he had to d to “play the best tennis cheering on [his] teammates.” play baseball and improve as a player. quit band because of time conflicts, hroughout each match” The team’s goals are to win “A lot of my ‘fire’ for the game comes but he’s “thankful to have been apart the team “has a really a League championship and from my teammates. My teammates of a great tradition and legacy.” far into CIF this year.” eventually win CIF. Mat- and coaches are what ultimately moMatthew is incredibly hards Varsity Tennis this thew’s dedication to the team tivate me to become a better player,” working, both as a student and an athwill undoubtedly be a critical continued Matthew. Aside from his lete, and his work ethic will be crucial aspect in the overall success team and coaches, Matthew also em- to the team’s success this season. hepowwow.com of the team. phasized that he considers Pete Rose, “Arcadia baseball is a former Major League Baseball playsxing@apachepowwow.com LLIE WONG courtesy of known for its competitive- er and manager, a great inspiration.

Photo by STANLEY SHAW ness,” Matthew remarked. It “I try to style my game after [that of] ON.COM Graphic courtesy of FLICKR.COM

By ELLIE LEE & LAUREN TRAJANO

Athletic Profile: Matthew Jung

Ready to Win

By TITUS WU & ROY ZHANG Staff Writers

Boys Varsity Volleyball began its season this month, currently holding a record of 5-1-0. However, this is only the beginning of the spring season; the team has only played six out of the many coming games so far.

The team’s first game occurred against Glendale High School on Mar. 10, achieving victory with a score of 3-1. However, for some, it proved to be an embarrassment, since they “usually shut out Glendale 3-0,” said Captain senior Samuel Kou. They crushed Hoover High School 3-1 on Mar. 12 and La Mirada High School as well on Mar. 16 with a score of 3-0.

With all this intense competition comes grueling practices. “It’s usually a lot of fun,” said junior Ashish Bishwakarma, “but we do have tons of hard conditioning days.” Workouts take place every day after school and consume long hours of time. Practices usually involve warm-ups, spiking, passing, and setting―core skills that are essential when playing volleyball.

Fundamentals are not enough though, so “that’s why we have scrimmages to help prepare for the real deal,” said Ashish.

Regardless of the outcome, all the individual players have goals for themselves, most notably to “become an overall better player this season,” said junior Jason Kwon. “I want to hone my skills now, so I can make my senior year unforgettable.”

Team-wise, a blend of confidence and humbleness are present.

Samuel claimed “the team is looking good this season” in spite of “losing a couple strong seniors from last year.” The “returning members are getting stronger,” Samuel emphasized, and he also pointed to the talent of the new recruits. “Although we don’t talk much, the team,” Samuel insisted, “has strong fundamentals.”

Yet Ashish set the team goals low, commenting how the team should aim “for the top three in League” instead of CIF given Boys Varsity Volleyball is an underdog this season. He also pointed out a flaw of the team, the team’s defense. “It really [hurts] your team when you don’t have good defense,” said Ashish, but he admits the team has superb offense.

Hopefully, by the end of the season, the team will be able to work out the kinks and gain momentum just before playoffs. With lots of practice and hard work, Boys Varsity Volleyball will no doubt succeed and thrive, and may even make CIF. Good luck Apaches! twu@apachepowwow.com rzhang@apachepowwow.com

ACADEMICS

20 UC Berkeley English

By LAUREN TRAJANO

Staff Writer

The University of California, Berkeley (UCB) is a public university located in Berkeley, CA. One of the most selective and highly ranked public universities in the world, UCB offers a vast array of majors to its undergraduate students. Although popular majors at UCB include Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, UCB is actually ranked first in the nation for its program in English Literature.

UCB’s English department features classes in literature, language, and writing.

Its literature courses have different levels of focus. Students can choose to focus on major authors, historical periods, critical theories, critical methods, cultural studies, and multicultural studies. Its language classes, on the other hand, offer instruction in both English and history. By studying language, students can analyze the structure of English and learn more about historical evidence in writing.

Students majoring in English at UCB introduced to the literature history of English and are able to get acquainted with the variety of historical periods and geographical and cultural regions of the English language. Through writing, students can create an awareness of the methods and theories present in literary and cultural analysis of works from famous writers.

Studying English at UCB consists of six courses. English 45A-45B-45C, a course in Shakespeare, is also an intensive study of literature in English. It covers the works of Chaucer through the 20th century and other British, American, and Anglophone writing. Together with the required course in Shakespeare, this sequence provides a foundation on which to build more specialized upper-division course work.

An upper-division course in literature before 1800 is also required of students with English majors at UCB. In addition to this, students also must take an upper-division seminar, either English 190 or H195A/B. UCB offers students a great opportunity to explore English literature at the global level.

Its education abroad programs are managed by a major faculty advisor and can be used for credit toward the coursework an English major is required to complete.

Through the Education Abroad Program, students can meet with a faculty advisor once they return to UCB and provide the necessary documentation to demonstrate that their education abroad courses are comparable to the upper-division courses offered at UCB. Thus, they may get credit for their work, while enjoying the sights of a foreign country.

UCB also offers great internships for its students. In order to receive internships, students coordinate with the faculty of UCB’s English department.

By studying English at UCB, students can not only experience the different courses in literature, language, and writing, but also study abroad programs and internships. In short, UCB offers a wide range of opportunities for its students and is an excellent school for English. ltrajano@apachepowwow.com

Graphic courtesy of FLICKR.COM

By KIMBERLY LO

arcadiapowwow.wordpress.com

March 2015

Quiz Bowl Buzzes in Success Staff Writer

Quiz Bowl (QB) is making great progress this season and preparing for competitions planned throughout the spring. Its competitions first started in October of last year and will continue until Nationals toward the end of this school year. Students compete in teams of four to answer questions on several topics. Categories range from social science, literature and the fine arts to popular culture, sports, and music.

QB is an academic team which consists of competitions that are like the TV game show Jeopardy! Freshman Sean Lee’s favorite part of QB is “getting powers, [which is] when you answer a question super early and earn higher amounts of points than usual. You get this overwhelming sense of accomplishment and everyone congratulates you because it’s considered a really great thing for novices to power...Another thing that’s great about QB is afterward, when you ask other Arcadia teams who got which question, and you high five other people who got the same question [because] you ‘think alike’.”

On Mar. 7, QB took part in the Triton Winter competition at the University of California, San Diego. QB was stellar; ATeam won and continues on undefeated, B-Team took 3rd place, and a team of all novices earned 6th place.

Co-captain senior Kevin Wang commented, “The A- team

for Arcadia Quiz Bowl has not lost any games (not tournaments, individual games) the entire year...In fact, the full A-team of Arcadia Quiz Bowl has only lost three games in Southern California in recent history.” As a team, QB has had a great performance record for several years.

Junior Daniel Huang likes QB “for the chill nature of meetings and cool people.” Moreover, he continued, “each competition gives us a better sense of camaraderie.”

For six consecutive years, QB has consistently held a ranking in the top fifty high schools in the U.S., in addition to going to Nationals. Last year, A-Team earned 5th place out of the 256 teams from all around the U.S. Cocaptain senior Yuqiao Zhao said, “One of the things that Quiz Bowl has never ceased to amaze me with is that even after four years, I’m still constantly learning new and fascinating things from QB. Also, in the four years I have been in QB, I have seen the team rise from being barely one of the top fifty teams to being one of the best programs in the country, and that journey has been infinitely rewarding.”

Nationals will be taking

place in Chicago, Illinois this year from May 23 to May 24, and this year QB triple qualified its teams for Nationals! Kevin noted that QB is “one of only a few teams who [is] sending three teams or more to High School National Championship Tournament. We are also sending our A team to Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence National Scholastic Championship, a different national competition.”

Goals that QB have included are ranking in the top twenty of competing high schools in the U.S. and maintaining AHS’ title as the “deepest school west of Texas”.

QB prepares for competitions through weekly meetings. “Also on the way to the tournament in the car we often find packets on our phones and practice from there as well,” added Sean. Daniel prepares for competitions “by going over packets that we have gone over before that was a while back so that I won’t just remember all the answers.” Sophomore Brianna Sun enjoys “the atmosphere and the people” in QB; while it takes “much work and dedication to become better, the people in QB make it worth it.”

As for future plans at Nationals, Yuqiao shared that “A-Team is currently ranked as the third best team in the country, and we certainly do hope that our performance at Nationals reflects that. We hope to replicate last year’s Bteam’s 21st place finish at Nationals. We are also sending a C-team that is half veterans and half novices.”

Congratulations, and good luck to QB members as they advance to Nationals! klo@apachepowwow.com

Photo by TITUS WU Graphic courtesy HONORSCOLLEGE.MSU.EDU

Science Olympiad Prepares for State

By DONNA SAYPHARAJ

Staff Writer

On Saturday, Feb. 28, Science Olympiad (SO) competed in Regionals at Occidental College, and qualified for State. Junior Hanah Lee stated that all the members were excited for State and are “super motivated now even more than before.”

SO has long held a tradition of success, placing consistently in top three at Regionals and top five at State. This time was no different; SO secured 4th place, which is in itself already extremely impressive, but is contesting for a spot that may put them into higher standings. Either way, the team is once again headed to State. In regards to the competition, Captain senior Conway Wang said that “the competition went pretty well and that the members are practicing a lot more. To do well at the state competition, certain events are meeting at lunch and after school on days aside from the regular meetings to practice.”

In addition to moving on to state, sophomore Derina Chou also won first in her event, Dynamic Planet, with this year’s focus on Oceanography. When asked about how she studied, Derina replied that she “just studied for both Dynamic Planet and Ocean Sciences

Bowl at the same time because the topics overlapped.”

Other events SO participated in at the Feb. 28 competition included Bridge Building and Scrambler. Bridge Building, which involves using types of wood and glue to construct a bridge

that will withstand holding a bucket of sand, is one event that the team hopes to improve on.

Conway noted that SO is “working on getting an even better efficiency of mass of the bridge to our mass carried from 2500 to 3500 e.g. 4.5

gram bridge holding 15 kg or 15000 grams, spanning a 45 cm gap.”

Members of SO meet up on Thursday for events like Bridge, which constitute building.

The events in which SO compete in vary greatly, across the entire spectrum of sciences. On Saturdays, the team gathers to practice for testing events. Hanah said that the members “all worked super hard to prepare.

We read textbooks and took practice tests, and especially with building events it required a bunch of after school time to really test and perfect our things whether it be bungee or scrambler.” Derina said that the practice tests “simulate what it might be like during competition. The test was short answer and divided into sections; each section was eight minutes.”

With all the hard work put in by team members, Conway expressed his hope that “with another month of work we hope to dominate at state and make it to Nationals.” As Hanah put it, they “are going to go ham for state and work super hard.”

Good luck to SO at State! dsaypharaj@apachepowwow.com Photo courtesy of ACADEMICS.AHS.AUSD.NET Graphic courtesy of LABSEARCH.COM

March 2015

academics.powwow@gmail.com

OSB Surfs to Nationals

ACADEMICS

it is her third time competing, she admitted, she “still gets the nerves every time.”

Staff Writer For the past two years, OSB has faced a tieOcean Sciences Bowl (OSB) has done it breaker with Santa Monica High School. While again. After working on its skills for the past the team was hoping to avoid the tiebreaker this school year, OSB garnered 1st place at the year, persevering through it certainly made their 16th annual Los Angeles “Surf Bowl” regional victory all the more “sweeter”, said Kathy.

After attending the national competition competition at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Feb. 28 and will be advancing on to the for the past two years, Steven “hope[s] that [the] national competition in Ocean Springs, Mis- team does really well, and considering how this will be the third sissippi at the nationals for half University of of our team, I’m Southern Misas excited as sissippi Gulf a leopard seal Coast Research waiting for a Laboratory. penguin chick to Seniors trip into the waKathy Lee, ter.”

Dorothy Chang, C o a c h Steven KurniaKaren Rapacon widjaja, Kevin shares similar Wang and Edsentiments as ward Chiu hit she is “so proud buzzer after JPL “SURF BOWL” Ms. Rapacon and A-Team of how well [the] buzzer as they exhappily pose with “Steveeee” and their Ocean team did at Repertly answered questions against the other 11 schools. Edward gionals and looks forward to reclaiming the explained, “there’s nothing more enthralling national title in April. The team continues to amaze [her] about how much marine science than beating another team to a question.”

Each member of the team specializes in a they’ve learned and it’s great that they gain exspecific subjects ranging from biology to ma- posure about ocean issues through participating in the competition.” Let’s wish OSB the best of rine policies to zoology.

Team Captain Kathy organizes practices luck at National Ocean Sciences Bowl finals! for the team twice a week for two hours. Afsmukherjee@apachepowwow.com ter months of practice, Kathy is proud that the Graphic courtesy of COOLPIC.COM team “worked really well together and trusted Photo courtesy of JPL.NASA.GOV each other to answer questions.” Even though

By SUKANYA MUKHERJEE

AP Human Geography

By KATIE HUANG Staff Writer

With March being the programming month, there is a focus on AP Human Geography (APHuG), a new class being offered to sophomores starting with the 2015-2016 school year. APHuG offers a beneficial course dedicated to studying the spatial interactions of people and places around the earth, using maps and the different regions of the world to tell these interconnections. Introduced this year by Mr. Oliver Beckwith, this class replaces the semester course Development of Civilization Honors (Dev. of Civ H), so only incoming sophomores can take this class.

The instructors of Dev. of Civ. H, Mr. Oliver Beckwith, Mr. Kevin Fox, and Mr. John Panza, have all made the transition to teach APHuG. Mr. Fox stated that the content of the two courses are very different, with “ Dev. Civ H being focused on the start of ‘western’ civilization and mostly Greek and Roman societies,” while APHuG “is a multifaceted course that covers a wide range of topics, cultures, areas,

21

time periods, and themes.”

Mr. Fox explained that this class “will provide students with all the potential benefits of an AP class—enhanced GPA points for college applications, potential college credit if they pass the test, and increased and improved intellectual and academic skills vital for success later in high school, in college and throughout their lives.”

Current sophomore Brian Huang said although he did not take Dev. of Civ H, he would have taken ApHuG, because it “is more advanced and is a year long class,” so he can “dedicate more time into learning the content and study for the AP exam.”

Although open access is implemented, and there are no prerequisites to enter AP US History, (aside from a C+ in Modern World History,) this class is still good preparation to be taken in advancement to any other social sciences, such as AP US History, AP US Government, and AP Comparative Government. It emphasizes the the new Common Core guidelines as it targets analyzing the different cultural and political patterns, as well as agriculture and land use.

This class incorporates various aspects from other courses, such as AP Environmental Science and even a little bit of Psychology.

APHuG is definitely a class which incorporates a variety of content that is applicable to current courses as well as future classes like AP US History that some incoming sophomores will take. khuang@apachepowwow.com

Graphic courtesy of HOMEPAGE.USK.CA

Destination Imagination Goes to State

By BRITTANIE GAJA

Calendar Editor

AHS is a hodgepodge of impressive scholars and academic talents. Yet, it isn’t all just book smarts and test scores; it takes a bit of fun and a smidge of creativity as well. Destination Imagination (DI) has been dominating in both academic and innovative challenges this year as they competed recently in Regionals.

The entire competition is split into three parts: Regionals, State, and Global Finals.

There are then six to seven individual challenges for each of the DI teams to approach and prepare for. Some teams erect structures and create odd trinkets and creatures while others display their artistry through storytelling and skits. Whatever the challenge may be, each one tests the team’s problemsolving skills,

creativity, teamwork, and collaborative abilities.

In preparation for upcoming competitions, DI holds weekly workshops and meetings to help aid the individual teams and put them on track, which was one of the “many ‘firsts’ [for the team] this year” remarked senior Co-President Ryan Ong. He described the process each team goes through to prepare for the competitions, detailing the amount of leadership and responsibilities each member must uphold.

The individual teams began its preparation roughly three months away from Regionals, each responsible for the organization of their individual meetings and practices. Some teams armed for the competition by meeting weekly and practicing with self-made prompts.

“It’s different from other academic teams at AHS in the sense that members don’t necessarily study a certain academic subject and get tested on it,” commented Co-President senior Elaine Che, “students are encour- aged to collaborate and use their

creativity to work through problems, developing skills and exploring interests by solving challenges.”

After three months of hard work and preparation, Feb. 28, the day of the competition, arrived.

“The competition went well,” said senior Judy Wang, a member of the Improvisational team that tied for second, “We felt prepared from all our practices, and the judges there were really welcoming, enthusiastic, and friendly. “A few of the kids from the younger divisions impressed Judy, who admitted how some even outperformed the high school

teams. Sadly, not all of the teams made the cut. “Many of the teams didn’t finish, including ours,” Elaine explained, “but it was still really fun and we’re looking forward to State at the end of March!” Even though some teams didn’t qualify

for State, DI is happy to announce that ten teams from AHS will be attending on Mar. 28, bringing the grand total up to 17 teams representing AHS at the competition.

We asked our interviewees if they had anything to say to their teammates.

“Continue to be bold, to take risks, and to show who you truly are,” Ryan remarked. “And, above all, never be afraid to lose.

Failure, in Destination Imagination, is as important as success.”

Elaine also encouraged her teammates and prospective members to engage in new activities and pursue personal interests.

“Have fun in the process!” exclaimed Judy, “After all, that’s what DI’s all about.”

We wish you the best of luck at State, DI. Your fellow Apaches will be here rooting for you!

bgaja@apachepowwow.com

Photos by CATHLEEN SHEN Graphic courtesy of WALLPAPERHI.COM

22

CALENDAR

arcadiapowwow.wordpress.com

March 2015

The DUFF

By PETER JU Have you ever been made fun of for your appearance, your actions, your passions, or just the kind of person you are?

That depresses everyone, no matter who you are. Everybody needs someone who they can lean on for security and help, and when you find out that they have been using you the whole time, the level of rage rises to an all time high. All of this is present in the movie directed by Ari Sandel, The DUFF, starring Bella Thorne, Mae Whitman, and Robbie Amell. The movie was very entertaing throughout its two hour running time. What made it great was that it is very relatable and that it teaches all of us a great life lesson.

The movie sets the characters and story up very well. I had a good idea of who’s with whom and who’s against whom; however, things get heated as the story progresses. Bianca is good friends with Casey and Jess, and the three are their own trio. Wesley is the cool, popular guy who is the captain of the football team. Madison is the evil, yet popular

Staff Writer

diva of the school.

The movie was full of humor and witty jabs at high school drama. During Madison’s party, Wesley labels Bianca as a “DUFF”, which stands for Designated Ugly Fat Friend. Although it was a mean thing to do, the way he said explained the meaning behind the acronym was humorous and somewhat eye-opening.

The lesson of the movie is to just be who you are.

Bianca was this “average-looking girl who isn’t datable.”

She tries to change her personality and appearance to keep up with her two other hot friends, but later on she learns the lesson and just accepts herself for who she is. That acceptance is what leads her to become the girlfriend of the homecoming prince, Wesley.

The DUFF was a great movie; however, the movie had some plot holes that were not resolved. For its entertaining humor and valuable life lesson, I give the movie four stars out of five. pju@apachepowwow.com Graphics courtesy of BELIEFNET.COM and DREAMSTIME.COM

Graphics courtesy of 1001FONTS.COM and ZINGERBUG.COM

CALENDAR

calendareditor.powwow@gmail.com

March 2015

23

Handwriting & You

By KAITLYN LIAO

Staff Writer

Have you ever heard of graphology?

CELTIC

CHARM

FEAST

GOLD

IRELAND

LEPRECHAUN

CLOVER GREEN LIMERICK

LUCK

PATRICK

PINCH

RAINBOW

SAINT

SHAMROCK

ktran@apachepowwow.com Graphics courtesy of 1001FONTS.COM and ZAZZLE.COM

By CATHLEEN SHEN Pisces: 2/19 – 3/20 Pisces are creative when independent, but cannot last long on their own before drifting into their own fantasies. Being escapists, they always imagine everything to have a happy ending. Pisces are extremely sensitive and loyal. They will help their friends no matter what, which can often be a weakness. They tend to be indecisive when choosing things and trust people too easily. Their personality is very mysterious and is shaped by the environment that they live in.

Staff Writer

Aries: 3/21 – 4/19 Aries are leaders and loyal friends, but they can sometimes be impulsive, moody, and short tempered, which is hard to deal with. They do not take orders from others and can even be self-centered at times. Despite a strong front, there often lies insecurity due to the pressure Aries put on themselves to excel. cshen@apachepowwow.com Graphics courtesy of 1001FONTS.COM and MODES4U.COM

you probably display aggressiveness and intensity, but you are also intelligent and very curious. gra·phol·o·gy (gră-fŏl′ə-jē) You are logical, systematic, and make caren. The study of handwriting ful decisions. Also you like to go with the flow, but this may cause you to be scared to go outside Although this may sound fake, it has been of your comfort zone. proven that your handwriting can show more than 5,000 different personality traits. Take out a penDotting your “i” cil and paper and write down a sentence in your If you dot right above your “i”, it shows that normal handwriting. Keep track of the following you are detail-oriented, organized, and emphatic traits your handwriting holds and see if it matches over what you say or do. to your personality!

If you dot your “i”s with a kind of slash, it means you are overly self critical. You probably Size don’t have a lot of patience for inadequacy or If your writing tend to be on the larger side, it people who don’t like to be corrected or learn shows that you are open to new ideas and are not from their mistakes. afraid to say yes. You are outgoing, people-orientIf the dot over your “i” is in the shape of a ed, and outspoken. It also shows that you can put circle, then it depicts that you are creative and up a front and pretend to have a lot of confidence. visionary, but you could be child-like and imMany celebrities have large handwriting, so it sug- mature. gests that you are outgoing and like the limelight.

On the other hand, if you have a small font Crossing your “T” size, you tend to be more shy and withdrawn, but If your lowercase “T”s are crossed at the studious and well focused. When you make a goal very top of the T, then you are ambitious, optiyou persevere to meet it. Scientists, technicians, mistic, and have good self-esteem. lawyers, accountants, and writers are often seen Crossing your “T”s in the middle means with small handwriting. you’re confident and feel comfortable in your If your writing is big enough that you don’t own skin. need a magnifying glass, or it’s small enough that If you cross your “T”s with a long line it it fits on one line, you are probably average. You means you are determined and enthusiastic. are well-adjusted and adaptable. You have a high However, you tend to be stubborn and have a tolerance, but you can sometimes be a little awk- hard time letting things go. On the other hand, ward. crossing your “T”s with short lines shows you tend to be lazyand have a lack of determination.

Spacing Between Words If you have wide spacing, you enjoy freedom Open VS. Closed “O” and don’t like to be overwhelmed or crowed. HavHaving an open “O” means you are talking wide spaces shows that you like a little wiggle ative, social, able to express your feelings, but room if you mess up or make a mistake. still have some a little secrecy.

If you have narrow spaces in between your If you write closed “O”s you are probably words, it shows you can’t stand to be alone. You more on the private and conservative side. You always like to be in a crowd of people, or sur- limit to sharing your private feelings to the closrounded by your friends. est people you know, and even then you might still hold some information back.

Slanting No slant in your writing shows that you are Pressure logical and practical, and you don’t let your emoWriting really dark or with a lot of pressure tions get the best of you. You are a good listener probably means that you are good with commitand that would making you a very supportive ment and taking things seriously. If your presfriend. sure is overly heavy that it is often hard to erase If your handwriting slants to the right, the you words, it shows you can be uptight and react sky’s the limit. You are open to new ideas and ex- quickly to criticism. periences. However, your emotions tend to rule If your handwriting is really light, you tend over your thinking, and you are prone to mood to be on the sensitive side and show empathy toswings. wards people.

A slant to the left shows you tend to hold back and you aren’t as open to things and you tend to Signature be a little more conservative, although you love Illegibility means you are very private, or to work behind the scenes and love to take charge hard to read or understand (or you are just too of group projects. Keep in mind, if you are right lazy to write out your full name in cursive). handed your writing is naturally supposed to slant Legible handwriting means you are cona little to the right (or not at all). If it slants to the fident and comfortable in your own skin; you left you were probably trained to write like that, or don’t need to pretend you’re someone that you it shows that you are expressing rebellion. are not.

Shape of Letters So what type of person does your handwritRounded letters show that you are creative ing say you are? Well, don’t fret about your reand artistic. You tend to think outside the box and sults because it is part of what makes you, you! you are not afraid to step out of your comfort zone. kliao@apachepowwow.com If your handwriting looks like barbed wire, Graphics courtesy of TUMBLR.COM

24

CAMPUS FOCUS

cf.powwow@gmail.com

March 2015

“Don’t get discouraged. Review as many practice assessments to figure out how you can do even better!”

-Kaiwen Zhou, 12

“At first, I wasn’t sure if the score was real, or if it was actually a mistake. But when I came to terms with it, I was really happy, jumped around for quite a while, and hugged both my parents. I never expected to get a perfect score on either of them, much less both.” - Kaiwen Zhou, 12

By Emily Quach

Staff writer With school, homework, and extracurricular activities, another task to add to the list, is the SAT and ACT tests. We spend numerous months before junior or senior year preparing for these tests to aim for the highest score. Recently, AHS proudly announced that three students achieved perfect SAT scores! However, senior Kaiwen Zhou not only achieved a perfect score on the SAT, but also a perfect score on the ACT as well. To the upcoming students taking the tests he advised “to not get discouraged. Even if you don’t start off scoring as high as you hoped, give it time and effort. The person who can help you best is yourself, so make sure you learn from your mistakes and make the most out of your time studying.

He explained how “the test is a race against time, so you have to stay on your toes. My tactic for both the SAT and the ACT was to finish each section as quickly and accurately as possible while circling each and every problem I was unsure of.

Then, I’d devote the time I had left over to thinking over the problems I’d circled.” Good luck to the students taking the upcoming SAT and ACT!

KAIWEN ZHOU

Graphic courtesy of DEVIANART.COM Photos by DEREK LEE