70 - 04 by The Cougar Press

Ventura High School Journalism 2 North Catalina, Ventura CA 93001 thecougarpress.org

The Cougar Press Friday, October 6, 2017

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

Naviance: An organized way to plan your future Clayton Currie

Naviance is a program that VUSD adopted last year in efforts to make the college application process easier for students. Naviance can be used to help search for colleges and determine what majors would be a good fit for each student. This program can also provide students with career opportunities that may be suitable for them. The site has a test available for students to take, that uses an algorithm to provide them with choices for career paths that match their interests. Along with the test, Naviance also provides a

space for seniors to create their “brag sheet,” which they can then save online. This brag sheet can then be shared with teachers, counselors, coaches, or anybody that needs it in order to help them write a letter of recommendation for the student’s college applications. Every student at Ventura High School already has an account with Naviance. When students go to the website, they have to first insert the school’s postal codewhich for VHS is 93001and then log into their account. The username for every student’s account is the same as their nine digit student ID number, and the password for each account is the same password as their school email.

This year, seniors must link their Naviance account with the Common Application. There are instructions on how to do this available to students on the Naviance home page. While seniors benefit from using Naviance for the many resources it provides when applying to college, anyone

Ryan King Summer Yovanno

Photo by: Ryan King Many of the VUSD teachers that attended the meeting held up signs to show their persistence. The Ventura Unified Education Association is composed of a large amount of VUSD teachers that are demanding a new salary package, which includes a two percent pay raise.

Master’s degree. According to each of the district’s salary schedules, Santa Barbara School District, Oxnard Union High School District, and Pleasant Valley Unified School District, are paying their teachers thousands more dollars per year than VUSD is paying its teachers. SBSD pays their class three teachers who have been teaching for five years $65,974.33. At 15 years,

VHS to leave Channel League Diego Roberto

years, they receive $84,736. VUSD class three teachers who have been teaching for five years receive $55,826. At 15 years of teaching, they receive $73,631. Even at 27 years, the VUSD teachers receive $82,009, which is still less than teachers in the other three districts are paid at 21 years. VHS’s ASB president, Philip Riley, attended the meeting and was part of the school board panel: “I know that Mr. Nelson mentioned that the district is in the red, so we don’t have enough money, but what he was saying is that we need to prioritize teachers and giving them that raise would show that to the teachers -that they are valued, and I agree with that, I think teachers are the most important part of the district.”

The Channel League currently consists of the school’s sports teams in Ventura’s region that compete against each other, which include: Ventura High School, Buena High School, Dos Pueblos High School, Santa Barbara High School, and San Marcos High School. VHS has been a part of the Channel League for many years, but it’s in its final season. It was announced last year during spring season sports, that the Channel League would be split up, with Ventura and Buena joining the Pacific View League along with Rio Mesa, Oxnard, Pacifica, and Channel Islands. Santa Barbara, Dos Pueblos, and San Marcos, will be staying in the Channel League, along with Lompoc High School, Santa Ynez High School, and Cabrillo High School. VHS athletic director David Hess, shared the reasoning for VHS leaving the Channel League: “Ventura and Buena basically had the option to be in a league with schools from Lompoc, but that’s like a two hour drive, so we said absolutely not. What we’re going to do [instead] is join Oxnard, Rio Mesa, Pacific, and Channel Islands, and be in a six team league with them. It wasn’t what we wanted to do, but we didn’t have a choice when the Santa Barbara schools had to go North.” So VHS and BHS have left the Channel League and have joined the Pacific View League. This change includes all sports, unlike some leagues that are only for certain sports.

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from freshmen to seniors can use the site.

“Naviance is a tool, so it’s only going to be as useful as you make it,” VHS Counselor Kate Raney said.

2% would leave teachers content

On Tuesday September 26, teachers from Ventura Unified School District appeared at San Buenaventura City Hall to appeal for a new salary package that includes a two percent pay raise. VUSD pays Ventura High School teachers with a step and class system. A step and class system determines the amount of money our teachers receive based on how many years, or steps, that they have been teaching. The classes are also what determine the amount of money VHS teachers make, based on what degree and other possible credits they received during their college education. For example, a class three teacher is defined as having a Bachelor’s degree, plus 45 upper-division semester units or having a

Volume 70 Edition 04

teachers receive $84,570.31, and at 21 years, they receive $86,671.08. OUHSD pays its class three teachers who have been teaching for five years $73,679.64. At 15 years of teaching, teachers receive $96,039, and at 21 years, they receive $97,507.30. PVSD pays its class three teachers who have been teaching for five years $62,519. At 15 years, teachers receive $82,186, and at 21

News Ryan King California is likely due for an earthquake, but is anyone making preparations for the “Big One?” The part of the San Andreas Fault that runs along the Grapevine, North of Los Angeles, hasn’t experienced a “major” earthquake, one classified as a 7.0 to 7.9 magnitude, in 160 years. The last earthquake was Fort Tejon, with a 7.9 magnitude on January 9, 1857. In the article, “A section of the San Andreas fault close to L.A. could

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Earthquakes: Are we ready? be overdue for a major earthquake,” from the Los Angeles Times, research shows that earthquakes happen in that area on average every 100 years. An earthquake happens when two of the Earth’s tectonic plates slip past one another. There have been two recent major earthquakes -magnitudes 8.1 and 7.1- that hit Mexico less than two weeks apart. As scientists cannot yet accurately predict exactly when and where an earthquake will occur, the best solution is for people living in earthquake VHS Emergency Safety

zones to always be ready. For instance, schools have specific emergency plans depending on geographic locations and campus layout. They are strongly encouraged to practice their emergency plan multiple times per year. When the question, “Are you familiar with the procedure to follow during an earthquake on a VUSD campus” was asked in a recent Twitter poll posted by The Cougar Press, 82 percent of 51 votes said “no.” Charles Cornwell, the assistant principal, said, “Every year we update our security procedures. We have what they call a ‘school safe plan,’ and it’s updated every year. What we do is we take information from that, and we put it in every classroom, on what we call a ‘safe wall.’ So every teacher should have a safe wall.” The new safe walls will be red and labeled “Safety” in a large font, and will have necessary safety information that will include an evacuation route for each

Index

classroom, a teacher buddy list and a booklet that has information about what should be done to be as safe as possible in different emergency situations. At VHS, there are six different storage bins for emergency purposes which are distributed throughout the campus. These bins contain water, food, tools, toiletries, batteries, radios, and flashlights. If the case of an emergency evacuation from campus, all staff members and students would be told via the intercom to move to one of the evacuation areas such as Cemetery Park. If it is safe to stay on campus, ninth and tenth graders would be moved to the Main Street Gym, and eleventh and twelfth graders would go to the Tuttle Gym. VHS is planning on participating in The Great California ShakeOut, which is a worldwide earthquake drill that will be held on October 19 at 10:19 a.m.

News.......................................2 Sports......................................3 Features...............................4-5 Hot Topic...............................6 Distractions............................7 VHS On..................................8

The Cougar Press The Cougar Press is a student-run public forum of the VHS community. We strive to present all sides of the issue fairly and without bias. From time to time, we make an error. When this happens, we try to correct it as soon as possible. Students and community members are encouraged to write letters to The Cougar Press. We welcome all letters, but may edit them for clarity and brevity. This public forum is only as good as the community support it receives. Any letter submitted also may be published on our website www.thecougar press. org. Send letters to: Editor, The Cougar Press, 2 N. CatalinaVentura, CA 93001. The Cougar Press supports student free speech.

Staff

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Students say goodbye to Buena Nerd day

Editor-in-Chiefs Brooke Newman & Avenlea Russian

Brooke Newman With Spirit week beginning next week, it’s important that all students know about the changes taking place this year. Spirit week will be Monday, October 9 through Friday, October 13, with the rally still occurring on Friday. However, Thursday ,October 12 will not be Buena Nerd day. Although in the previous years Buena Nerd Day has been a part of spirit week, this year neither Buena nor Ventura High School will be participating in “nerd days.” Removing “nerd days” from Spirit weeks at high schools throughout VUSD was first brought up as a speaking point on the agenda of a board meeting. The decision to remove nerd days was decided by all of the VUSD principals, in order to encourage good natured

Managing Editor Micah Wilcox

Layout Editor Clayton Currie

Infographic by: Brooke Newman

rivalries. Despite it being a tradition, the principals all thought that it’s important to be more respectful towards each other, due to the the increasing rivalry these past years. For VHS students, this change was initiated by principal Carlos Cohen. Because of his choice, Ventura High School’s ASB entertainment committee -who is responsible for pitching spirit week ideas to Cohen- has adjusted their choices to honor his decision.

This year, the entertainment committee consists of Seniors Yuliana Dominguez and Courtney Caldwell, junior Grace Tyner, and sophomore Kaycie Rae-Tackett. In response to the removal of Buena Nerd day, Dominguez added, “Of course [Buena] will still be our rivals, but we are trying to minimize all of the hate and profanity that happens every year because of it.” With this change in mind, Caldwell stated that:

“There’s been talk about our students dressing up anyways, and ASB is strongly discouraging this. It’s not respectful to our principal’s wishes, and since Buena is not actively participating in a nerd day at our expense, it doesn’t seem right for us to do so.” Dominguez still encourages all students to participate in Spirit week, since “this is [the] first one, and [ASB] tried to make it simple and easy, to encourage students to dress up.”

Lola Bobrow Ryan Brocklehurst Tobin Berger-Cahn Paris Carmody Christian Caudillo Sarah Clench Hailey Cox Emily Distefano Alicja Fowler Samantha Franks Harley Gagnon Gage Gregorchuk Acacia Harrell Sailor Hawes Hector Heredia Ryan King Liliana Lara Hannah Lee Keanu Marquez Billy Maxwell Ian McWeeney Bailey Peck Diego Roberto Kai Torres Andrew Welsh Summer Yovanno

Sports

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Follow VHS cross country to their invitational meets

Lola Bobrow On Friday September 22, Ventura High School cross country competed at the Golden Eagle Cross Country Invitational in Clovis, and the Raider Invitational in Oxnard. Most runners competed at the Raider Invitational, while the top runners went to Clovis to compete in the Golden Eagle Invitational. All athletes who went to the Golden Eagle Invitational in Clovis ran a 5,000 meter race. VHS girls junior varsity placed first with 28 points. Sophomore Samantha

Prehn placed first at 21 minutes 11 seconds, sophomore Julianna Garcia placed third at 21 minutes 40 seconds and junior River Winn placed fourth at 21 minutes and 44 seconds. VHS boys junior varsity also placed first with 39 points. Freshman David Cruz placed third at 17 minutes 41 seconds and Joaquin Pearce, a junior at El Camino, placed fifth at 17 minutes and 47 seconds. VHS girls varsity placed first with 24 points. Sophomore Madeline Locher placed first with 19 minutes three seconds, senior Sofia Ramos placed second with 19 minutes

24 seconds and Junior Claire Ortiz placed fourth with 19 minutes and 45 seconds.

VHS girls junior varsity placed first with 28 points... VHS boys junior varsity also placed first with 39 points. VHS boys varsity placed fifth with no athletes ranking in the top five. All athletes that went to the Raider Invitational in Oxnard ran a 3 mile race. Girls varsity did not compete, while boys

Photo by: Preston Biller “It was pretty good results overall, especially on the JV side. . . Ultimately, [their goal] is to qualify for the state meet in November and hopefully place as high as we can,” said Coach Doug Petree.

varsity placed 13th with 291 points. Girls junior varsity placed third with 94 points, while boys junior varsity did not

compete. Girls frosh placed fourth with 148 points while boys frosh placed ninth with 272 points.

VHS girls tennis match serves as a learning experience Ian McWeeney Ventura High School girls tennis played a match against Santa Barbara High School on Wednesday September 27. All levels of tennis played at the VHS tennis courts, losing to the Santa Barbara Dons. Overall, Ventura’s record this year is 4-4, and in league their record is 1-4. They are cur rently in last place for Channel League, but are not out of the competition yet as

it’s been an extremely competitive season for the Cougars. Junior Neela Krishnasamy is a member of the girls varsity tennis

team. When asked about how she thinks they played she said, ¨I think we played pretty well as a team. We lost overall but it was really close,

Photo by: Hannah Elson Krishnasamy has been playing tennis for most of her life and is excited for her upcoming tennis matches.

and they are a really strong team.” K r i s h n a s a m y ’s personal record this year is 15-9, which is a big factor in their wins this season. Krishnasamy believes that the team is in a “rebuilding season,” with the loss of a lot of seniors and the addition of several new players. She stated that, “We are tr ying to win as many [games] as we can. We lost a lot of good players last year so we are just tr ying to rebuild the team.” When asked about the girls chances

in their upcoming match vs Buena High School, Krishnasamy said, “We have to beat buena… because it is hard to beat the Santa Barbara schools.” Even though the team is behind in the standings, this match was important to them because, “It was the last time we played Santa Barbara in league so we really wanted to win, but it was really close, we tried our best,” Krishnasamy added. The next home match is on Wednesday October 11 at 3 p.m. against Simi Valley.

Girls volleyball serves up victory after victory Lola Bobrow As of September 28, girls varsity has an overall record of 15-5 and a league record of 3-1. The season began on August 31 with a 3-1 win against Oak Park High School. The team faced their first loss of the season, 3-1, on September 5 against La Reina High School which was followed by a 3-0 win on September 6 against Thousand Oaks High School. On Friday September 8 and Saturday September 9, VHS competed in the San Luis Obispo varsity tournament. Friday, VHS went

undefeated, beating Arroyo Grande High School 2-0, Clovis East High School 2-1, and Immanuel High School 2-0. The following day, VHS lost to Buchanan High School 2-1, and Clovis North High School 2-0, but recovered, beating both Frontier and San Marcos High School 2-0. VHS then won their next three games: Rio Mesa High School 3-0 on September 12, Santa Barbara High School 3-0 on September 14, and Buena High School 3-0 on September 19. “[The Buena game] was probably the best we’ve ever played as a team,” Knowles added.

Following the Buena game, VHS suffered a narrow loss of 3-2 against Louisville High School on September 21. However, the Cougars came back at the Varsity Royal tournament on September 23, -just two days later- winning all four of their games: Atascadero High School 2-0, Granada High School 2-1, Hart High School 2-1 and Simi Valley High School 2-1. “[In] the [Varsity Royal] tournament we got first place. That was an accomplishment. That was pretty cool,” said junior Miranda Unzueta. VHS then played San Marcos again on September 26 and lost 3-2, marking their only

Channel League loss. “Our lowest point was probably [Tuesday] night. The loss against San Marcos was hard... It took us to five [games,]” Ruby said. Two days later, VHS played Dos Pueblos on

September 28 and won 3-1. VHS girls varsity volleyball will play their next home game on Tuesday, October 10 against Buena at 4 p.m. continued on... thecougarpress.org

Photo by: Lola Bobrow Ruby (left) and Knowles (right) pictured at the San Marcos home game. Knowles had a hitting percentage of 0.282% at this game.

Features

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Give a little, help a lot Sen io r O livia Block, wh o h a s d o n a ted bef or e s a id , “ I f eel th a t it is a n eed to g ive b a ck to the co m mu n ity a n d help out o th er p eo p le.”

Hailey Cox A c c o r d i n g to Mike McAdam, who works with T he American Red Cross, the American Red Cross has held a blood drive through Ventura High School in the Main street g ym ever y year for the past 11 years. McAdam said that, “Each year [they’ve] collected close to 500 donations.” Students have the oppor tunity to sign

Photo by: Paris Carmody Junior Sea’ana Egizi was happy to be able to give blood. The American Red Cross outlined the specific height and weight requirements on their website in order to donate blood.

up to donate either one or two pints of blood, which according to T he Red Cross could help save three lives per donor.

T he Amer ican Red Cr oss’s website also ex plains that ever y two seconds, someone needs a blood tr ansf usion.

“Each year [they’ve] collected close to 500 donations.” Ju n io r K im b er ly Abbe s a id th a t th e r eason s h e d ecid ed to donate wa s b eca u s e “ [ I]

wa n t to g ive b lo o d to b e a b le to im p a ct s o m eo n e’s lif e a n d h elp th em live.” Ju n i o r Mateo Fuentes has a different reason for donating: “[I] decided to donate because it looks good on a college a p p l i c a t i o n .” H owe ve r, not just any student can donate blood. The s t u d e n t mu s t b e i n good general health, and be at least 17 years old, or 16 with a signed parent consent for m.

VHS purchases new engines to enhance the learning of auto shop students the auto shop program this year, teacher Scott Hays removed his Biology This year, Ventura courses to take on six High School made periods of Auto, because improvements to their “This is my passion,” auto shop inventory in Hays said. purchased order to provide auto Hays the engines from Summit shop students with more Racing because of the opportunities. The school large discount that he purchased 10 engines was able to receive from for its Advanced Auto them. When asked about class -which has around 20 students- so each the source for the funding engine will have a pair of these purchases, Hays of students that will said, “Well the money be disassembling and comes from yearly money the Perkins rebuilding it throughout through Grant and then VCOE the school year. With the money. And there was improvements made in enough, like I said, I Billy Maxwell Diego Roberto

was able to purchase 10 engines and we bought 12 engine stands, and that cleared out the money. So it’s a hope this year,

once I see the fundings I have, that we’ll be able to buy two more engines. In addition I would like to put drip trays underneath

Hays describing the reasons behind the purchases made so far this year.

Photo by: Billy Maxwell

[the engine stands] cause when you turn them over they’ll drip.” He said that the engines had been run before they were slightly disassembled and shipped to VHS. His long-term goal for these engines is for them to be completely rebuilt by students to include intake manifolds, carburetors, distributor caps, and running stands. Summit Racing has also contributed the wood crates that the engines were packaged in to the floral class so that they can make pots out of them.

Who said students can’t love politics? research and practice court cases, and even attend the three annual Model Legislature and Court conferences.

Hannah Lee Wait what? High school students care about politics and want to be involved? Yes! Youth and Government, also known as Y&G, is a six month program for high school students run by the YMCA. Students roleplay the various positions of the California State Legislature and the State Court systems as well as learn about issues affecting their state. How do students join Y&G? They join

Photo by: Hannah Lee Youth and Government participants mainly consist of VHS and FTHS students.

through local YMCA delegations. In fact, students that join Y&G come from various backgrounds and high

schools. Within these delegations, they create bills to be submitted to the Model Legislature,

Photo by: Hannah Lee Coats is the delagation treasurer this year.

Junior Sam Coats has been in the prog ram for two years, and spoke about his jour ney with Y&G: “I’m ver y passionate

about politics and getting involved in the community; it’s a g reat way to lear n about how our state g over nment works.” 14-18 year olds come together in Y&G to discuss real world issues, and how they can solve them. They practice what happens in an actual cour troom as well as what really happens in the political arena. Y&G par ticipants also have the ability to adapt to the real world while still being in high school through this prog ram.

Features

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There’s no end to these hot trends

Banner Bold: from class to club

said, “I was seeing these simple shirt designs and I was like ‘you know what, I can make something like that’… So, I just kind of went for it and got some patches and then just started doing it and people seem to really like them.” Henley has had to restock her shirts about five times since August 31, buying 16 shirts each time. Each shirt costs $10 with a patch. If the buyer just wants the patch, it costs $5.

over 40 students already signed up for Banner Bold, which is led by seniors Emily Lewandowski If students are (pictured below) and not already familiar with Sierra Pacheco-Payan. Banner Bold, it is Ventura High School’s literary magazine that is put together by VHS students in order to showcase student creativity. Every year, Banner Bold holds an annual competition where Photo by: Sarah Clench students can submit “If you like managing, there’s a lot of managing creative writing, art and jobs,” said Lewandowski. “Banner Bold is the photography, with the chance that it may be school’s literary magazine, so I believe it really gives published in the edition. In the previous students a voice because school years, Banner Bold some kids are quiet and was a part of the Creative you don’t ever get to hear Writing class taught by from them, and I think it Greg Raney, however this gives other people that year, it became a student- we don’t ever hear from a run club that meets on chance to speak out,” said Tuesdays at lunch in room Lewandowski. 172. continued on... This year, there are thecougarpress.org

Summer Yovanno Out of all the students at Ventura High School, there are two girls in particular who make and sell their own products. Junior Lily Henley makes and sells shirts, and junior Alisann Tolosa makes and sells earrings.

Photo by: Summer Yovanno Henley started selling shirts on August 31, and is currently brainstorming ideas for new products.

Henley creates tanktops and t-shirts with a varying patch that is custom to the buyer’s choice. Henley

Photo by: Summer Yovanno Tolosa shares that she is happy to make jewelry for students that go to VHS.

Tolosa makes earrings that are either wire-shaped hearts, or mini Coca-Cola bottles. Tolosa explained, “When I was younger, my mom would make jewelry and I would sit in the craft room with her and watch… she [also] would have magazines that would have jewelry in them and I was like ‘oh I want to make that someday too’.” Tolosa has sold about 20 earrings so far, and only has a limited amount of heart-shaped earrings left. Both pairs of earrings sell for $1. If students are interested in these products, Henley can be contacted through Instagram @lily.henley, and Tolosa can also be reached through Instagram @al1sann. continued on... thecougarpress.org

Sarah Clench Diego Roberto

Foreign Explorin’ Paris Carmody Hailey Cox Each y e a r, students from all o v e r t h e wo r l d h a v e the opportunity to go to different high s c h o o l s, a n d g a i n n e w experiences through American Fo r e i g n Ser vice association o r t h e A F S. T h i s year Ve n t u r a High School has five Photo by: Paris Carmody

foreign e xc h a n g e s t u d e n t s, four of which are female, and one of which is a male. T hey all rang e from sophomores to s e n i o r s. According to t h e e xc h a n g e s t u d e n t s, they do not get to pick where they are going, o r t h e i r h o s t f a m i l y. The students only pick what countr y they want t o g o t o. F r o m t h e r e , they are required to fill out infor mation about

themselves and send it t o A F S. T h e f a m i l i e s then choose their e xc h a n g e s t u d e n t , w h o will stay with them for o n e y e a r, b a s e d o f f o f their infor mation.

Photo by: Paris Carmody

Maria Coll

Sarah Hodgaard

Sophomore/Spain

Junior/Denmark “My favorite thing about VHS is probably the school spirit, it seems like everyone really cares about the s c h o o l .”

“I like [Ventura] because it is a whole year of summer and the people [are] really nice .”

They say the students and teachers of VHS are very nice, and help them a lot.

Matia Tesio

The students only pick what countr y they want t o g o t o. T h e h o s t families take in a teenag er, who becomes part of a new family and experiences American culture, traditions, a n d h o l i d ay s. Ever y exchang e student will get a slightly different experience depending o n t h e i r h o s t f a m i l y. The exchang e Photo by: Hailey Cox

Arya Bayram

Senior/Italy

J u n i o r / Tu r k e y

“I come from a city so it is very busy with a lot of traffic and here it is quiet and all the people know e a c h o t h e r. ”

“I wanted to go to an English speaking country so I chose America, but you cannot choose the state or the town, they just p u t y o u t h e r e .”

students may have trouble with the English language, but they say the students and teachers of VHS are ver y nice, and help them a lot. It may seem scary at first to move away to a new country without family or friends, but according to the exchang e students, they are really e n j o y i n g Ve n t u r a a n d V H S, a n d t h e y a r e m a k i n g n e w f r i e n d s. Photo by: Hailey Cox

Jenny Suebsaiaun Junior/Thailand

“I like [the] city because the building[s] [are] not tall like Thailand,[Ventura] is small, it’s so cute.”

Hot Topic

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Blended up in a new cup Liliana Lara Blenders in the Grass first began in 2002, and has used styrofoam cups ever since. Their reasoning behind using styrofoam –despite environmental concerns– was to allow the smoothies to stay cold and to maintain the same consistency for a longer period of time. However in using styrofoam, they left their carbon footprint on the environment because styrofoam doesn’t

biodegrade. Therefore, every Blenders cup that has ever been served is still on the earth somewhere. It has not biodegraded, and never will. Recently, Blenders has changed: they decided to design and create a new plastic cup without using Styrofoam that looks “trendy.” The new cups have the words “Blenders: fresh, quick, nutritious, delicious” on the front. According to Blenders, they came to realize the impact of their carbon footprint and

wanted to fix it. Environmental enthusiasts are very happy about the switch, including the Global Warming Action Team, GWAT club, at Ventura High School. GWAT is dedicated to helping the environment through various activities, from educating people to planting trees. Senior Raphaella Rosale, the club’s treasurer, said, “I think it’s a good idea because the styrofoam cups, a lot of people would throw them away, [because] people think that

Photo by: Liliana Lara Junior Paris Gaston and senior Joseph Sandoval enjoyed their Blenders, and Gaston stated, “I love the new cups!”

styrofoam can biodegrade, but it can’t. I think the plastic cups are a good idea because you can easily reuse them for

another drink, and if you reuse cups at Blenders you get a discount, so that would definitely help [the environment].”

Do you care what you wear? Acacia Harrell With the semiannual event, New York Fashion Week beginning on Thursday September 7, 2017 and ending on Wednesday September 13, 2017 the importance of style was a matter that many students were thinking about. Some schools require dress codes or uniforms, making it difficult for students to diversify their fashion. Although at Ventura High School, there is a dress code, there is still a wide diversity of styles according to

students. Seven students of different grades and genders were asked questions like: “what do you take into consideration when picking out your clothes? Do you think your clothes are an expression of your personality? Do you think clothes are important for teenage expression, or simply things to wear out of the house?” Sophomore Gabby Sheldon and junior Bennett Cvijanovich rely more on convenience and comfort combined with a little bit of personal style. “I guess I just

choose the first thing out of my closet,” said Sheldon. However, she also added that she thinks “[My clothes] have something to do with my personality...” Cvijanovich explained that for him, comfort is key: “I wear Birkenstocks and a nice comfy flannel, [and] I’m set.” Senior Noa Hall made the point that sometimes clothing choices are dependent on how one feels on a certain day. “I would say the clothes that I wear express how I’m feeling on that

day,” commented Hall. He also added that the biggest influences for him when picking out clothing is “somewhat trends but also personal style.” The most common responses emphasized the

importance of showing one’s personality and style through clothing. “You can tell that I took time to pick out my outfit,” stated Junior Delaney Valdez. continued on... thecougarpress.org

Photos by: Acacia Harrell From left to right: Jacobson, Cvijanovich, and Lopshire. Check out the full article online to see what these students say about Fashion Week.

Banned? Not at VHS Avenlea Russian September 24 to 30 was Banned Books Week in the United States. Banned Books Week is an official week that celebrates the books that have been banned and challenged in high schools for containing content that is “inappropriate” for high

schoolers. Although Banned Books week is celebrated nationwide, Ventura High School embraced this week by putting books on display in the library that are banned in other places, but are still available at VHS. Many of the books that are banned in other states are part of the required curriculum at VHS.

VHS librarian Susan Adamich stated, “Ventura High School is one of many places that celebrates our freedom to read whatever we want to read. We take these books and we get them out, and we enjoy reading them because it’s our First Amendment right, and it’s our freedom.” A few banned or

challenged books in the VHS English curriculum are The Crucible, Animal Farm, The Great Gatsby, and To Kill a Mockingbird. The creator of Banned Books Week is Judith Krug, First Amendment and library activist. Krug said that the Association of American Publishers contacted her

with ideas to bring banned books “to the attention of the American public,” after a “slew of books” had been banned that year. Each year, the American Library Association records hundreds of attempts by individuals and groups to remove them from school library and classrooms.

Photo by: Avenlea Russian Open the Aurasma app and hold your phone over this photo to get a more in depth display of the Banned Books that the VHS library had on display during Banned Books Week.

Distractions

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Infographic by: Liliana Lara

Download the app Aurasma and follow us @thecougarpressvhs

Open the app and hold your phone over me to watch a tutorial on how to work Aurasma.

Test your [Charlotte’s]web of knowledge Crossword by: Lola Bobrow

Across 1. Human character named after woodland plant 3. Name for the smallest of a litter; characteristic of Wilbur 4. Author of the original novel 7. Charlotte’s web message 8. Spun by spiders to catch their prey 9. Last name of lead actress 10. My

egg

Down 2. Last name of the director of the fall play 5. Rat companion that helps Charlotte when offered food 6.

Sassy health care

Roller blading

Keanu Marquez Walking into the Health office is one thing I dread due to the look I get when I tell them about my illness, and it sucks. I’m too stubborn to go into that place now when I get sick because they’re not going to believe me unless I’m bleeding or dead. They don’t take kids seriously even when they’re actually sick. They give you that look of “I know you’re faking this and just want to go home.” It really bugs me, going into the health office, and getting that look. I’m sick and tired of it.

little eggsack

100 word rants Stop stealing my pens

False advertising

Multicolor Day is %#@$

Clayton Currie

Paris Carmody

Acacia Harrell

Ryan King

Why can’t I roller blade to class? I understand the rules against skateboarding, biking and scootering, but roller blades are just wheeled feet. I have to travel pretty far from class to class with a short amount of time allotted for each passing period. If I were allowed to roller blade, I would never be late for class. Why it’s a bad thing that I’d be getting to class early, is beyond me. I have been roller blading since I was a wee-lad, and would not be a nuisance to other students in the halls. I say, let the students roller blade.

So first, you are going to forget to bring your own pen… Then, I let you borrow mine and you never give it back. Do you think I have a bunch of pens that you can ask me to borrow every single day and never give back? The worst part is when it’s a nice pen -and they know you have it- so I can’t just say no when they ask. You know you borrowed that pen, and you still don’t care to give it back. Then you have the audacity to ask me for one the next day?

What’s the deal with the new vending machine covers? Now they say “Healthy Choice” on them. I would be excited for healthy vending machines, except for the fact that they basically have the same food as last time! They literally just put a sign in front that says “Healthy.” Is the same food somehow magically healthy? I think not. Not to mention that everything inside is probably melted, stale, or impossible to get out, so why even try. At first I was stoked because I thought I could finally buy food from the vending machines that wouldn’t cause diabetes. Guess not!

What the bleep is Multicolor Day? I mean who the bleep only wears one color? No one in the history of ever wakes up and says, “Hey I’m going to wear one color to school today!” It’s bleeping 2017, everyone has some sort of fashion sense. We aren’t bleeping crayons. Hey ASB, do you see people running around in mono color morph suits!? I don’t! What are you expecting to see on this bleeping day? People don’t wear one color! It’s just not a thing. So tell me this, what the bleep do you want from all of us dull VHS students?

VHS On... Fall fashion trends

The Cougar Press Page Eight Photos by: Emily Distefano

Senior Alexa St. Joseph commented, “Beanies, because they’re warm and cozy.”

“My favorite fall fashion trend is wearing overalls,” said sophomore Keoni Calderon.

Freshman Jack Zilles said, “Since it’s Ventura and it’s still pretty warm out, I still like to wear shorts.” Senior Sarah Florez said, “I really like wearing fall colors, like different shades of orange.” Freshman Charlie Richard shared, “I like wearing jean jackets, I have a couple that fit me pretty well.” Junior River Winn commented, “I like to use the fall weather as an excuse to wear the comfiest clothes I can.”

Sophomore Emma Higgins stated, “My go to fall outfit would be Dickies with shoe laces”

Junior Cole Stender said, “Some nice, warm, cozy jeans, and a... furry sweater.”