The Forge, Volume 101, Issue 4

THE

SBHS

FORGE

Volume 101, Issue 4

SBHS senior battles poliolike illness

Get updates on Gracie’s condition from posthope.org/gracefisher Photo courtesy of posthope.org/gracefisher Lizzie Saunders On December 21st, our fellow Don, Gracie Staff Reporter Fisher was admitted to Cottage Hospital complaining of pains in her back and numbness in her arms. Within just minutes from the initial symptoms, Gracie’s numbness turned into paralysis and a breathing tube was inserted to help Gracie breathe. After days of testing, Gracie was diagnosed with acute Flaccid Myelitis, an acute neurological illness with polio-like symptoms.

Gracie is the 101st patient that has been diagnosed with this disease, making the treatment and recovery process tedious and slow. However, Gracie has continuously shown amazing courage and strength! Even with a ventilator, she continues to smile, mouth words, and lip sing. She has even mastered telling people how to tune a ukulele just by blinking!

Gracie is getting better everyday, and her little sister Emily, who is a sophomore at SBHS, says, “When she first came in, she couldn’t feel below her jaw, and she couldn’t move her head. Now she has feeling in her right arm and sometimes in her left leg, and she is more awake and responsive.”

As many of us know, Gracie is very active in the world of music and dance.

She is a member of the Madrigals as well as the Youth Symphony; she spends her free time playing the guitar, cello, and piano, and dancing ballet, jazz and tap.

She was even chosen by the senior class as “Most Likely to Win a Grammy”. Gracie has been accepted to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston in the fall. On behalf of the Fisher family as well as The Forge, we ask that you keep Gracie in your thoughts and hope for her full recovery.

For more information and frequent updates on Gracie’s condition, visit the website posthope.org/gracefisher.

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January 30, 2015

Four SBHS seniors participate in the SBIFF 10-10-10 Competition Emma Cisek Tuesday the 27th Editor-in-Chief marked the beginning of yet another Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The festival runs until the 7th of February and is packed with tons of great events and celebrity appearances.

One of the most exciting events however, is the 10-10-10 Student Screenwriting and Filmmaking Competition. The idea of the competition is that 10 student-run crews have 10 days to each make a 10 minute film, and this year, four seniors from SBHS have been given the honor of competing in this event. Both Hana Antrim and Graham Collector were chosen as screenwriting finalists, and Patrick Hall and Julia Kupiec are filmmaking finalists. Julia will be taking Graham’s screenplay and adopting it into her film, while Patrick will be working with a screenwriting finalist from another school, and Hana’s screenplay

will be used by another filmmaker.

From the 10 films, four will be chosen as winners. The winners will receive full scholarships from Relativity Education’s Los Angeles-based summer workshops, as well as a $500 gift certificate to

Samy’s Camera. The films will be shown on Saturday, February 7 at 2 pm at the Arlington Theatre. Admission is free so be sure to come out and see what your fellow Dons can do!

Music of the Night kicks off 15th season Yesterday marked the opening night of the 15th season of Santa Barbara High School’s Music of the Night. Music of the Night is a completely student-directed Broadway Musical Revue featuring songs from all of your favorite musicals.

This year’s directors are senior Aaron Linker and juniors Sable Layman, Rio Salazar, and Dante Gonzalez. The show features a cast of over 25 actors, a live student band, and songs from shows such as Jersey Boys, Dog Fight, and First Date.

Music of the Night shows off a beautifully student-created set and amazing costumes, and, once again, our student body blows it out of the water with amazing vocals, acting, dancing, and even directing. It is always a pleasure to see how talented some of our fellow Dons are.

This show may also be your last chance to see some of our star seniors on the stage including Nick Blondell, David Zevallos, Hannah Robinson, Blake DeVine, Natalie “Shug” Cvitanic, Alessio Morello, Kendall Christiansen, Hailey Simmons, Spencer Glesby, and Sofia Hsu. Music of the Night is an amazing show that really shows off the incredible talent we have here at Santa Barbara High School and is fun for the entire family. The Above: Irving Soto, Bradley DeVine, Ben Zevallos, and David Zevallos perform show will be this weekend on Friday the a medley from Jersey Boys 30th and Saturday the 31st at 7pm in the Below: David Zevallos and Natalie Jimenez peform “Love Song” from Pippen theater, be sure to come out and support.

Photo courtesy of Emilio Madrid-Kuser

Emma Cisek Editor-in-Chief

What’s Inside?

News: SBHS to introduce new schedule A Tribute to Charlie Hebdo Sports: Basketball Gears up for SM Game

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January 30. 2015

The Forge

Room 31, 700 E. Anapamu St. Santa Barbara, CA 93103 805.966.9101 ex. 5031

Staff Editors

Emma Cisek Tyler Greenwald Editors-in-Chief Nicola Freeland Layout Editor Edoardo Kaplan Managing Editor Marianna Alevra News Editor Gabriel Reali Nick Blondell Entertainment Editors Blake DeVine Sports Editor Beau Lettieri Website Editor Chris Gulden Opinion Editor Spencer Ferrell Photograhpy Editor

Staff Reporters Emmanuel Gonzalez Mark Gross Alonso Martinez Alyssa Mendibles Lizzie Saunders Sable Layman Anastasiya Brice

News Boko Haram Crisis Emma Cisek Boko Haram, called Editor-in-Chief officially Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad, is a terrorist, militant, and Islamist movement based in northeast Nigeria, although they are also active in Chad, Niger, and Cameroon. The group is led by Abubakar Shekau, and has recently been in the spotlight for a series of heinous crimes against the people of Nigeria.

Beginning on January 3, the group seized a military base in Baga, a town on the border with Chad. They attacked again on the following Wednesday, and fighting has continued since. A statement

by Amnesty International from soon after the attack stated that at least 2,000 people were killed, most of those being children, women, and elderly people who could not escape fast enough by foot when the insurgents drove into Baga firing rocketpropelled grenades and assault rifles on the people of the town.

The attacks took place only five weeks away from the presidential election, which is likely to cause even more bloodshed.

As many as 1.5 million people have been displaced by the violence, and many of those will not be allowed to vote in the election under Nigeria’s electoral laws.

Almost a week after this attack on

Attacks by Boko Haram come close to the upcoming presidential elections Photo courtesy of ibtimes.co.uk Baga, the same group is believed to have strapped a bomb to a 10 year old girl in the city of Maiduguri. The blast occurred at a busy market and killed at least 19 and injured 18 people. This same market has been the target of two separate suicide bombers last year. On the same day, at least two others were killed when a car exploded at a police station in Potiskum, Nigeria.

These events are not the only tragedies that have struck the area in recent months.

Boko Haram is suspected to be involved with several other attacks and kidnappings that have become increasingly more frequent since November. Many have been killed, injured, displaced from their homes, and many schools have been closed down.

NAACP bombing

Freelance Writers David Zevallos Olivia Harris Pheobe Mullen

Photographers Christopher Sink Emma Gibson

Advisor Otto Layman

Many were shocked about the lack of coverage for this major event.

Photo courtesy of andrewdavidcoxartist.com David Zevallos On January 6th, Freelance Writer 2015 at approximately 10:45 am in Colorado Springs, Colorado, an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded outside of a building, which housed the headquarters of the NAACP. The NAACP stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People which was founded in 1909 and since that time has worked to promote racial equality.

The building was charred and disrupted both the daily activity at the NAACP and a local business. Due to the nature of the organization, it is presumed that this explosion was a hate crime, and the

F.B.I. was called in and has taken over the investigation. On January 10th a sketch was released of a white man in his 40’s believed to be connected to the crime.

This is not the first time the NAACP has been targeted. For example, in 1951 a bomb placed under his bed killed an NAACP secretary named Harry T. Moore. In 1963, another field secretary, this time in Mississippi, Medgar Evans, was fire-bombed and then assassinated outside of his house. In 1993, NAACP meeting houses, both in Washington, DC and Sacramento, CA were bombed but fortunately no one was injured. As one of the most visible anti-racial discrimination

entities, the NAACP has a history of fending off these kind of racist attacks.

One of the most troubling aspects of this story is the lack of media coverage it has generated. Without the support of Twitter and other social media there would have been no national awareness of this event. At a time when news outlets have placed so much focus on the tragic events in Paris, little attention has been paid to a violent attack which took place right here in the United States. The power of social media to make a difference is once again evident.

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January 30, 2015

News SBHS to implement block schedule?

Anastasiya Brice Staff Reporter

Despite this year being only halfway over, we are already looking forward to the next, and the SBHS administration has proposed bell schedule alteration that may be implemented in the upcoming school year. Few students know about this proposal and I think that we, as the student body, should stay informed.

According to this new schedule we will have a modified block schedule, which means that three days out of the week will be regular 6 period days, and Wednesday and Thursday will be block days. In these block days, the classes will be 92 minutes long and before 2nd period there will be a “seminar” period.

The teachers I have talked to so far have informed me that “seminar” will be an opportunity for students to work with teachers to better their grade, i.e. if they have below a C in a certain class they will be assigned to a teacher who teaches that class and during the 40 minute “seminar” they will be tutored so that they can bring their grade up. It was also rumored that students may come and volunteer during seminar to get volunteer hours, so this is one easy and fun way to make new friends and accumulate those community service hours. For the students who do not have lower grades they will be able to use this time to work with teachers in a certain class, such as an honors or an AP class or even a theater or music program class.

This time will be counted as a class which means that attendance will be taken and the student will be marked truant if they do not attend.

With this new proposed schedule change comes shorter lunches, the lunches will be shortened by 5 minutes but the campus will still remain an open campus during lunch.

During the block days both students and teachers will have a longer time to talk and interact, and due to this change

the teachers will have to get training on how to expand their classes and how to keep the students focused during such a long period.

The biggest concern, and what we will find out more about, is how athletics will be affected by this new schedule.

During this investigation I was able to get a hold of some teachers, administrators and students and ask them what they thought of this new proposal. Mr. Becchio said that “this will be a better fit for our students and teachers because it will slow down the work week for the teachers and allows for more teacher collaboration time.” It gives teachers time to organize and they will have time to get their work together while seeing less students per week.

Some students disagree with this new proposal because they think that they won’t be able to concentrate as much during the block periods and are scared that the block days might get boring and too tedious. Other students believe that the block schedule would be good because it would give them more time to get work done in class and therefore less homework to do at home.

When talking with Ms. Wooster she said that this would benefit students because it would give them time to catch up and work on classes they wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. She mentioned that “teachers would be able to pick the seminar class that they would teach and this would be good for classes like art because they would have more time to work on bigger and more elaborate projects.”

All in all, I believe that this new proposed modified bell schedule change would be good for both the teachers and students. Both will be able to have more time to focus on their classes and those students who are very picky about a certain teacher would only have to see them 4 times a week and vice versa.

In State of the Union, Obama discusses his agenda and ends with a quip

Marianna Alevra President Obama News Editor delivered his sixth State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 20, with an optimism to focus on middle-class economics. He claimed credit for an improving economy and vowed to fight for important programs that have been ignored.

He called to Congress to make a community college education free for all students (which would cost $60 billion over a decade), impose new taxes on large-income institutions and high-income earners, and enhance tax credits for health and child care. This plan is due to the expanding wealth gap in the United States and abroad. Republicans strongly oppose such a plan, because they view it as a blatant redistribution of wealth, so the president’s tax plan has a low chance of passing since Republicans have the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

2014 was the year of Internet vulnerability with the breaches and hacks on Home Depot, J.P. Morgan, and Sony Pictures, which is why Obama is prioritizing stronger cybersecurity. “No foreign nation, no hacker should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids,” the president said. “If we don’t act, we’ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable. If we do, we can continue to protect the technologies that have unleashed untold opportunities for people around the globe.” To do that, Mr. Obama is pushing for a new federal law that will force companies to reveal when they’ve been hacked and notify customers of a data breach within 30 days.

Like in his previous State of the Union speeches, he addressed climate change with serious concern. He called manmade global warming a reality backed by science, not a myth, and declared that we must act with more urgency in order to make the future better. He even mocked the Republican Party’s determination to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry 830,000 barrels of petroleum

per day from Canada to the Gulf Coast.

“Let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline,” he remarked.

In addition, Obama advocated an activist federal government to continue a foreign policy that combines “military power with strong diplomacy” as ISIS reigns over vast areas of land in Syria and Iraq with terror and Boko Haram slaughters innocent men, women, and children throughout western Africa. He also called on Congress to lift the trade embargo with Cuba and pass legislation authorizing the fight against ISIS. It is also worth noting that the United States is the only developed nation without paid maternity leave. Since 1993, the United States has been stuck with the Family Medical Leave Act. The Family Medical Leave Act required companies with 50 or more employees to offer up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family medical leave, which includes the birth of a child and caring for a sick relative. This covers approximately 59% of U.S. workers, but a 2012 Department of Labor survey shows that about half of those workers do not take that leave for financial reasons. “It’s time we stop treating child care as a side issue, or as a women’s issue,” Obama said, “and treat it like the national economic priority that it is for all of us.” Now, one of Obama’s bigger goals is to improve paid leave benefits for workers during the last two years of his term.

However, one of the highlights of the speech was Obama’s presidential “burn.”

Towards the end of the speech, he noted that he has no more campaigns to run, eliciting applause from the Republican Congress that forced Obama to let out a slight smirk. With a straight face, he adlibbed, “I know because I won both of them,” causing the audience to explode in laughter for several minutes while Obama winked proudly.

You know, just in case anyone had forgotten that he won both races for president.

Plan for new Freshman Seminar course

The new bell schedule will be effective beginning next fall

Submit letters to the editor at forge.sbhs@gmail.com!

Alonso Martinez Beginning in the Staff Reporter fall semester of 2015, Health and Freshman Seminar will no longer be taken together as a requirement for freshmen. Students that are a part of the performing arts pathway will be able to take an alternative course to the Freshman Seminar class with Beginning Theatre, Choir, or Orchestra.

Students who are not in the performing arts pathway can take Freshman Seminar online, or during one of the seminar sessions with the new bell schedule that will also begin during the fall semester.

Performing arts students are given the chance to take the classes that they couldn’t have before due to the requirement of Freshman Seminar and Health as a part of

the freshman schedules.

Health is still a graduation requirement, however, students may now take the one semester class whenever they choose during their four years of high school.

This allows students to take the health class and get it out of the way in their freshman year, or they can take the class at some later point in their high school career. With health a class that the students can take at any point in their four years of high school, this gives the student leeway to take the classes that he or she may want to take, or a class that they might need credit for. This action doesn’t just help those in the performing arts program, instead it helps the whole student body of Santa Barbara High School.

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January 30. 2015

Features Horoscopes Emma Gibson & Florentina Lang Staff Reporters

Capricorn (December 23 - January 19): Originally you’ve been involved in only work, Capricorn, but this year the tables are going to turn for you. Instead of work, work, work, relationships will start to be your main focus. If you continue to make your love life more of a priority, you will find that every aspect of your life is enhanced and enriched.

Aquarius (January 20-February 18): Mars and Jupiter are touching your sign, Aquarius, which could make things chaotic. BUT, Saturn will help you to “revise your paper, give the finishing touches on your projects” which at the end of the day will be very positive.

a fighting spirit which you luckily possess.

Moreover, you can lean on your energy supply, Mars, which is not only your planet but the one who will support your body and soul! Love wise? One thing is sure: Where love is concerned, you won’t be getting bored anytime soon! If you are in a relationship, you’ll do everything so that routine doesn’t get settled in your love life! But you might feel intellectually tired which will force you to slow down and therefore rethink your strategy.

Taurus (April 21-May 20): You’ll catch up from the 28th onwards, a romantic moment will be possible to plan under such a sky. Although, the planets might heighten your sensitivity. But from the 13th onwards, Mars will once again become your ally. You’ll feel like materializing your projects. Boosted by a Pisces (February 19-March 20): For someone as sensitive as you, it may wonderful intuition, you’ll have complete have been tough to keep going from time confidence in your actions. to time. You have a charitable heart and Gemini (May 21-June 20): a generous spirit, Pisces, and your many The beginning of the year looks kindnesses have proven positive with your promising and almost spectacular! More friendships. or less satisfactory, newness might worry you sometimes. Trust yourself, you’ll Aries (March 21-April 20): Make yourself be heard as this will know how to maneuver and make the best show a certain resistance on your part, and out of situations. Once you’re on your

Artist of the month: Delainy Tarleton

Delainy is a sophomore in VADA Photo courtesy of Emma Gibson Lizzie Saunders Recently, Forge Staff Reporter staff reporter, Lizzie Saunders, interviewed sophomore Delainy Tarleton to talk about her personal experiences with art, as well as experiences at school. Here’s what she had to say.

Who or what inspired you to be an artist?

I never really decided I wanted to do art, I’ve just always liked drawing and I still do. I don’t take it seriously at all.

Are you in VADA? How has that program helped you artistic abilities?

Yes! I am in VADA and it has been amazing. People think VADA is just drawing but it’s also multimedia arts as well, so it has taught me how to have fun with that. We’ve been on a few field trips to LA as well to see the museums which was cool too.

Do you plan to pursue art in the

future or in college?

I’m not sure about college, but it’s definitely something I’ll keep in mind.

It will always be my first elective choice here though.

Who is your favorite artist and why?

Roy Lichtenstein.

Do you reflect his work in any ways?

No, I wish. Pop art isn’t a skill of mine at all.

Why do you like art?

I like the idea of creating things no one has seen before. Something completely new is just really cool to me.

How did you get your butt so big? Do you do squats?

Hah, I don’t really know what to tell you. That’s just kind of how life is. I don’t know man.

Do you have any other serious hobbies?

Music.

way, there’s no stopping you.

Cancer (June 21-July 22): The stars will cause you to perfectly handle your budget. Pluto won’t leave you in peace. But on the positive side, concerning love, you’ll see Venus gently lighten up your relationship. Don’t bury your head in the sand anymore, it’s time to be upfront about things and remedy those things which don’t suit you any longer.

This will allow you to move on confidently in the path that you have chosen.

and will make your more open-minded.

That Virgo, will help you blossom.

Libra (September 23-October 23): With four planets as a square in your sign, you might be under pressure. Venus and Aquarius right from the 4th will make you forget your troubles. Don’t hesitate to raise your voice, and use your art of diplomacy because you’ll reap many benefits.

Scorpio (October 24 - November 22): Finally released from Saturn’s grip, a new energy will settle in you. Morally and physically, fatigue will disappear and motivation will resurface slowly. Many trips, making contacts, and important steps will keep the beginning of the year busy for you.

Leo (July 23-August 22): You’ll feel like reorganizing your mundane life, moving on, liberating a number of constraints or obligations. The week from the 26th until the 31st will be in your favor, Leo! To be the head of the crowd, take advantage of your popularity to pass on your ideas and present your Sagittarius (November 23 - December requests or complaints.

22): Love!! The main subject of your month Virgo (August 23-September 22): of January. If you’re single, Uranus in your A promising start to the year with a love life will offer you fun and adventure, bunch of planets in Capricorn should but choose you to commit to a constructive allow you to assert yourself. Especially the and sustainable relationship, could there a Sun/Pluto conjunction will reinforce your more serious path ahead of you? ambition and will. For the single Virgos, your love sector will boost your courage

Staff spotlight: Josh Enobakhare Edoardo Kaplan Managing Editor

Josh Enobakhare graduated from George Fox University, a small country school in Newberg, Oregon. Young and upbeat, he has been teaching film production classes at the Multimedia Arts and Design Academy since January 2014. Despite being new to Santa Barbara High School, he has already cultivated close mentoring relationships with many of the MAD students. His rising popularity gained him the nomination for appearing in The Forge’s Staff Spotlight feature of this issue.

If someone was to come to Santa Barbara High School for the first time in their lives and asked you what you do here, how would you respond?

“I am a teacher who hopes to be inspiring students to try out a skill that they may not have ever tried out before and hopefully fall in love with it. I think that film production is a skill that can be used in a lot of different areas, even if you are not necessarily going to have a career in it. It’s definitely a skill that is great to know” What’s your favorite part of the job and the least enjoyable moments?

“My favorite part of the job is discovering hidden talents and previously unknown interests. I love seeing how this new generation of more advanced and way more affordable production equipment is being used by a new generation of crazy, creative, and talented young folk… What I like the least is seeing people with a crazily high potential not putting in the amount of effort that I know they could put. In that situation, it is very hard to motivate them.”

This being the beginning of a new year, could you tell me what your goals

Photo courtesy of Gabe Reali for the future are?

“In one year, I wish to become a leading music video director in the hip hop and RnB music industry. My entire life right now is separated between places. I live in Camarillo, traveling north to Santa Barbara every day, which takes about 45 min. In the evening, I travel all the way back to Los Angeles either to shoot or edit music videos. Our biggest music video to date has been for the song Touch Me, Touch Me by A.Y., featuring Sean Kingston, and we did this about three months ago. A.Y. is currently a massive East African artist and Sean Kingston is a big hip hop artist.”

I finally asked Mr. Enobakhare what message he would like to give the students.

“Whatever field of study you plan on pursuing, make sure that you don’t wait till college, especially if you are in the creative arts. Take school seriously because you’re going to appreciate it after you graduate from college and are competing with others that took it very seriously.”

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January 30, 2015

Features Teens Tweet Compiled by Emma Cisek Editor-in-Chief

The Forge would like to remind everyone to use social media safely.

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January 30. 2015

Cartoon by Robert Tornoe from the Philadelphia Inquirer

Cartoon by Signe Wilkinson from the Philadelphia Inquirer

Charlie Hedbo: censorship, satire, and mocking religion Marianna Alevra Religion is a touchy subject. When News Editor Booker prize winner Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses was published in 1988, hell broke loose in the Islamic world. Although Rushdie himself was raised in the bosom of a Muslim family, he offended many Muslims with his controversial portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad, called “Mahound” in the novel, as a false deity wrestling with temptation. Rushdie gave the names of Muhammad’s twelve wives to prostitutes in brothels, and most controversially, he brought attention to the “Satanic Verses,” the small number of pagan verses that depicted Muhammad speaking Satan’s words as the word of God, which were removed from an early version of the Quran long ago. Outraged, the Ayatollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran at the time, issued a fatwa ordering his death, and Rushdie was forced to go into hiding. Although the Iranian government stopped supporting the death warrant, the fatwa itself still continues to be in place — a symbol of extreme intolerance towards blasphemy in the Middle East.

Twenty seven years later, the mockery of Islam has yet again been met with terror. Two jihadi gunmen, the Kouachi brothers, executed twelve people in the

Paris headquarters of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo because of the magazine’s controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Now, the attack has sparked an ongoing debate on whether the cartoons should have been published or not.

Let me just say that I do not condone mocking religion, but out of freedom of speech, we should still have the right to be able to. Growing up with a Buddhist mother, I know I was at least a little offended when South Park portrayed Buddha doing cocaine in the 200th episode, and that was far more abusive than actual satire. Like South Park, but in a less crude and more intellectual manner, Charlie Hebdo mocked everyone.

The humor is meant to be taken lightly.

However, while South Park censored a particularly controversial subject like Muhammad and ridiculed everybody else, Charlie Hebdo treated all of its targets of mockery equally by drawing Muhammad like it would draw any other religious figure rather than censoring him alone.

Although no where does the Quran forbid images of Muhammad, a tradition known as the “hadith” prohibits them to guard against idolatry. Muslims have every right to condemn the cartoons, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion, including

Cartoon by Satish Acharya

satirical magazines.

Nothing justifies violence, and no other religious group reacted with such violence. The Kouachi brothers yelled that they had “avenged the prophet.”

Somebody tell the jihadis that there is no verse in the Quran that outlines any form of punishment for blasphemy. Violence only defames the name of Islam, which is a shame because Islam is actually a peaceful religion. Islamophobia in the United States has only worsened since the September 11 attacks. When Islam is viewed by the general public as the face of radical, barbaric extremism, the good Muslims face more unfair prejudice.

In response to the attack, newspapers and magazines across Europe chose to republish the cartoons as a form of protest against extremism, a symbol of the core values of democracy and free speech, respect for the twelve people who were executed, and solidarity for journalists around the world. Yet American news powerhouses such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Associated Press, CNN, and Fox News censored the cartoons. The country that prides itself in being the land of the free and the home of the brave cowered. The safety of global staffers working for these news outlets was cited as one of the key

reasons for censorship, but the terrorists and anyone who supports the terrorists will now view the American media to be weak while Europe dared to stand up.

Executive editor of The New York Times Dean Baquet defends his decision to describe the cartoons in words rather than show them by explaining that the cartoons are “gratuitous insult” rather than satire.

But that is besides the point. The cartoons serve as satire, and satire is not always funny. The essence of satire is its various forms, as its purpose is to ridicule the vices and errors of society. It can be funny.

It can be sad. It can be bitter. So, when a cartoonist goes to extremes to publish highly-sensitive material, he or she should have risks, such as credibility or perhaps even his or her job, but certainly not his or her own life.

Editorial/Opinion Policy: While we will do everything possible to grant the greatest range of free expression to our contributors, The Editorial Staff and Faculty reserve the right to edit for objectionable language and space constraints.

Cartoon by Harry Harrison from the South China Morning Press

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January 30, 2015

Cartoon by David Pope from the New York Daily News

Cartoon by Jeff Grader

Daryl Cagle on France, cartoonists, and murder Reprinted with the author’s permission I woke up this morning to the news of the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo Magazine office in Paris. Twelve people were killed and 11 wounded, including two of my French cartoonist friends, Tignous and Wolinski. Cartoonists around the world are grieving.

Americans treat editorial cartoons as a trivial daily joke in the newspaper — in France, editorial cartoons are loved and respected. The Louvre has a branch museum devoted to cartoons; imagine if the Smithsonian had a cartoon museum, that’s the way cartoons are revered in France.

“Charlie Hebdo” is a silly name; it is a weekly magazine filled with editorial cartoons, easily found on newsstands everywhere in France. “Hebdo” means “weekly” in French, and “Charlie” comes from France’s love for the comic strip

“Peanuts” and Charlie Brown — therefore “Charlie Hebdo.” The top cartoonists in France vie to be on the pages of Charlie Hebdo.

There are cartoon festivals all over France — the best one for political cartoonists is in the small town of St Just le Martel; I’ve been attending for years, along with other cartoonists I syndicate.

The townspeople pitch in to throw a festival for the editorial cartoonists every year; villagers put cartoonists up in their homes and they award a live cow to the “Humor Vache” cartoonist of the year. One greatly respected winner of the cow was Georges Wolinski, a brilliant cartoonist with a masterful loose, swishy, wordy style, high-ly respected by the French.

We were fellow cow winners, having a beer together last Oc-tober; it is hard to imagine that he is gone.

The Charlie Hebdo cartoonists are a

Cartoon by Ruben L Oppenheimer

diverse group of charming characters; they are the heart of the French cartooning community. There are not a lot of editorial cartoonists. We get to know each other; the murders are a blow that strikes close to all of us.

The Charlie Hebdo artists were energized and incensed by the Danish Muhammad car-toon fracas a few years ago. French cartoonists have a macho attitude, seeing themselves on the front lines of a free speech debate. One Charlie Hebdo issue, touted as “edited by the Profit Muhammad,” had all blank pages.

One Charlie Hebdo cover featured a drawing, by French cartoonist “Luz,” of the magazine’s publisher/cartoonist “Charb” having a sloppy kiss with a Muslim man, under the headline “L’Amour plus for que la haine” or “love is stronger than hate.”

Charb was among those killed in the terror attack.

Terrorists have no sense of humor.

Cartoons loom large in the Arab world, typically on the front pages of Arab language newspapers. It is no wonder that our cartoons seem to bother the terrorists more than our words. Sitting behind a beer with Charlie Hebdo cartoonists, the talk often turns to Islamic extremists and their assaults on press freedoms. No one can doubt that editorial cartoonists are leading the fight for press freedoms now.

Today we are grieving, but as we move forward, I hope that our cartoons won’t be chilled by these murders and that the cartooning community will step up to this challenge with even more brilliant and insightful work — I’m sure the French cartoonists will do that; they are my heroes.

Daryl Cagle is a Pulitzer Prize winning graduate of SBHS.

Cartoon by Herve Pinel from Le JDD

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January 30. 2015

Entertainment Movie Review: American Sniper Nick Blondell Entertainment Editor

There is a lot of controversy c u r r e n t l y surrounding the release of Clint Eastwood’s new film American Sniper, mainly because it glorifies the main character Chris Kyle.

The true story of America’s deadliest sniper in history, Eastwood’s film is both a graphic war film and touching character study that features terrific performances from Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller.

As Kyle, Mr. Cooper subtly enters into the audience’s heart and quietly breaks it from the inside, with an intense ferocity that he has not shown us before. He truly inhabits the role, and looks less like a movie star portraying a Navy SEAL and more of a beer drinking, food guzzling, weight lifting texan who just happens to be a terrific marksman. Ms. Miller is also quite good as Kyle’s wife, Taya, but her scenes are slightly less subtle than Mr. Cooper’s.

Instead, she puts everything out there, and it is devastating to see her witness her husband’s transformation in front of her own eyes. Mr. Cooper’s and Ms. Miller’s chemistry cannot be doubted, and it is obvious that the two are quite skilled at acting when the engage in flirtatious

banter at the local bar.

Mr. Eastwood has proven many times that he is a fantastic director, and his films Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Invictus, and Letters from Iwo Jima definitely prove that. However, some of his recent efforts have fallen quite short; both J. Edgar and Jersey Boys were critical and commercial flops. However, Eastwood is at the top of his game here.

He never shows us too much, and he perfectly captures the brutality of the Iraq war with his minimalist approach. There is one moment, though, which completely ruins the climax of the film, and Eastwood should know better than to make poor directing choices at important moments of the story.

American Sniper has already broken every January box-office record, but it doesn’t come without its critics. Filmmaker Michael Moore has slammed it for its glorification of Kyle, a downright troubled man who had been on record saying that he enjoyed killing “brown people.” Kyle was shot in 2013 at a shooting range by a fellow former veteran; he was part of Kyle’s program meant to reintegrate veterans struggling with injuries and/or

Bradley Cooper is terrific as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle Photo courtesy of americansnipermovie.com PTSD into society.

Overall, American Sniper is what it is meant to be: a very good film. It does glorify its main character, calling him “The Legend,” but that does not deter from Mr. Eastwood’s perfect direction and

Mr. Cooper’s heartbreaking performance.

Although it can be quite gruesome, American Sniper should not be missed, simply because it is always nice to encounter a well-made film.

Rating: 8.5/10

20 things to do as a second semester senior Gabe Reali Entertainment Editor

Senioritis is taken to the next level when seniors begin their last semester of high school. This is the home stretch - 7/8th’s of the way there, only a couple months remaining until we say goodbye to Santa Barbara High School forever. There’s a rumor that second semester seniors get lazy, and understandably so considering everyone will know what they are going to do after graduation. In addition to that, the seniors are just over the typical routine since we’ve been doing this for 4, or even 6 years if you want to count your time in junior high. The last month of school, particularly when AP tests are over, us seniors are literally done and getting ready to venture into the the world. However, this so-called “free time” that second semester will bring should not be wasted.

This time can be used so much more productively than just sitting around after school not doing anything. So here are 20 things every senior should consider doing before graduating high school.

1. Have fun. Yes it’s cheesy, but when you really think about it, these next few months could be the last careless months of your life. Living at home we don’t have to pay rent, figure out how we’re going to feed ourselves, etc., so why not live a little? Obviously life will hopefully get better after high school, but there’s definitely a reason this time is referred to as the “best time of our lives.” This is the time to have fun, and it’s easy, so just do it.

2. Start a business. With how advanced the world has become, it has never been easier to start a business. There are so many resources living in a privileged country like America, let alone a privileged city like Santa Barbara, so there is no excuse to not even try. Do you believe you have a revolutionary product? Are you good

enough at something that you could be hired by people? Be creative & experiment while you’re still at home and don’t have to be wary of risking some money.

3. Workout. Try a new sport, or just find a new workout that fits you like running or yoga. It makes you feel like an all around better person, and if you do it right, you’ll look better too, which is always a plus. Play something you’ve always wanted to! If you don’t try to play volleyball until you’re 40 years old, you might get stuck playing with a bunch of old people at the local YMCA. (Except the Y has great volleyball, so thats a bad example.) Even if it’s just finding a new workout, start working on that summer body early. If you’re not into sports, just disregard this one.

4. Take a passion to the next level.

Do you love photography? Art? Music?

Do you enjoy volunteering at the animal shelter, teaching kids how to play soccer or making food? If you answered yes to any of those, take your passion to the next level. Better yet, make a business out of it! You know the saying about never working a day in your life if you’re doing something you love?

5. Experiment With a New Look. Try out a new hairstyle, or experiment with different outfits you might not normally wear. Who knows, you might stumble upon that “it look” that makes you feel like a million bucks.

6. Eat at restaurants you’ve never been to. For an average sized town, there are so many places to eat and I doubt you have been to all of them. Venture out, try finding your new favorite burrito, sandwich, or pastry.

7. Get a part time job. You’re going to need some fun money for all the these fun activities, so why not get a job?

You’re likely to learn new things, it’s great

practice for the real world, and you make some money which is always great.

8. Re-do your room. Self-explanatory.

I personally love to mix things up.

9. Connect with your peers. Catch up with old friends you haven’t talked to in a while, or become friends with that one person you don’t know in your math class.

This is a great time to get everyone’s contact information so that you can all keep in touch when people start disbursing.

10. Learn to surf. If you go out of state for school, you know you will be asked if you know how to surf at one point or another. If you have never surfed, then why not try!

11. Binge watch a Netflix Series.

Most of the time rigorous school weeks haven’t stopped most of you from doing this anyway, but hey, now is the time you could do it without the mindset that you’d have to finish your twelve page paper after finishing just… 1… more… episode.

12. Do something fun with the senior class. Being part of the senior class is quite the bond so plan senior trips, senior pranks (just kidding..) and just do things together.

Everyone is in the same situation.

13. Go camping. Who doesn’t love to camp with friends!

14. Give a Freshman legitimate advice. Don’t pretend like you don’t have any words of advice for the freshman class.

I know I’ve appreciated all the advice I got from older kids, so why not keep the tradition going and help a freshman out.

15. Study for AP tests/Pursue Scholarships. You probably don’t want to see this one on the list, but think about it…

If you get good enough scores on those tests, you might not have to take those classes in college! That means less money, less homework, less studying, and less of a hassle later. If you’re planning to attend college in the fall, apply for scholarships.

The college application process may be over, but now is the time to start getting money to actually pay for college. There are so many opportunities so just keep your eyes open for it.

16. Go to the Chumash. If you’re 18, you can gamble here so why not go test your luck at the Chumash. It’s a great excuse to dress up and be ballin.

17. Go on trips with your friends.

Even if if it’s just a road trip up the coast, or breakfast in Solvang, make it happen!

18. Make homemade dinners with friends. Get a group of friends together and make a big home made dinner together. It’s great practice for making your own food at college and it’s just a fun thing to do.

19. Foster a pet. I don’t know if all shelters do this, but I know that the cat refuge in Goleta allows people to foster kittens for a period of time before they are old enough to get adopted. They are so cute and it is definitely a fun experience to raise kittens. Plus, it’s a great way to finish up those community service hours if you haven’t already!

20. Be a tourist. Enjoy Santa Barbara in all the tacky ways a tourist normally would. People pay big bucks to visit Santa Barbara and we are lucky enough to have it in our backyards. Take a segway tour, surrey, or just go to the beach everyday.

Make it last because if you go away for college who knows when you’ll live here again.

All in all, I’d say the message for second semester is to have fun, experiment, and just discover yourself. You can make fun of me now for being super tacky with this article, but just wait until it’s graduation day and everyone starts getting nostalgic and reflective on their high school careers.

I know you want to cut out this list and put it in your notebook.

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Fun and Games

Submit letters to the editor at forge.sbhs@gmail.com!

January 30, 2015

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January 30. 2015

Sports

Girls Water Polo

Tyler Greenwald It came down to Editor-in-Chief the final seconds on Tuesday as the The Santa Barbara High School girls’ water polo team was defeated by Dos Pueblos 6-5 in what turned out to be a riveting Channel League matchup at the Dons pool.

With only 10 seconds left on the clock, Grace Raisin comes away with a steal, darts toward the opposite goal, fires on net, but the shot is blocked by the keeper and the clock drains out.

“I thought it was pretty risky for us to try and throw it to (Garcia),” admitted Dons head coach Mark Walsh to Presidio Sports. “The shot clock was getting too low to give it to her I thought. I would have preferred someone to take the shot earlier than that.”

Santa Barbara’s Kristina Garcia had a game-high three goals and nearly tied the game with her fourth goal in the final minute. Garcia’s shot beat Huebner but was waived off because the shot clock horn sounded just before the shot was released.

“They worked really hard,” said Garcia. “They played very aggressive and did a good job getting in their spots to create lots of opportunities. We left them open a couple of times and they were able to capitalize on a lot of their chances.”

The Dons entered the fourth quarter

Santa Barbara’s Kristina Garcia puts up a shot in match earlier this season.

Photo courtesy of Presidio Sports trailing 6-4. An early 6-on-5 setup for Santa Barbara was snuffed out by Dos Pueblos but the Dons kept getting stop after stop. With 1:46 remaining in the game, Garcia dished to Brummett who scored from five meters out.

Garcia then came up with a steal on Dos Pueblos’ next possession only to have the Dons turn the ball back over to the Chargers without a shot. Sienna Goggia blocked a point-blank shot for her 12th save to give Santa Barbara another chance at the game-tying goal in the final minute.

Rising Athlete: Nick Busch

That’s when the shot clock ran out on Garcia.

“Sienna played really well, she bailed us out of a lot of tough situations,” said Garcia. “She can’t take the fall for the loss because most of it is on us and our defensive struggles but she definitely busted us out of some scoring opportunities for Dos Pueblos.”

The Dons, now 3-3 in league after two consecutive one-point losses to crosstown rivals San Marcos and Dos Pueblos, are still confident in their chances as the

season progresses.

“We need to continue to work harder and play as a team,” said Garcia. “If we motivate each other both in an out of the pool I think we can do really well.”

Santa Barbara is set to play Ventura on Thursday when they will look to rid themselves of their cold streak.

“We usually do pretty well against Ventura,” said Gracia. “We just need organize are strategy and stay positive and pumped up.”

Blake DeVine Sports Editor

Last year, Nick Busch led Bishop Diego’s boys basketball team in both scoring and rebounding. However, the junior decided during the summer to take his talents to Santa Barbara and become a Don. Despite missing the non-league schedule due to CIF rules for transfer students, Busch has made an immediate impact for Santa Barbara (19-4 overall, 2-1 league). With an impressive physical stature, the 6’5 power forward has added much needed depth and height for the Dons. After watching his older brother, Andy Busch, play on Santa Barbara’s team a few years ago, the transfer from Bishop has stepped up big-time to carry on the family legacy.

What has been the biggest difference from playing at Bishop Diego?

At Bishop, the school was very small and the team was pretty inexperienced.

But here I have played with some of the guys before on club basketball teams. So I knew how they played and thought it was a good fit for me.

What notable players have made your transition to the Dons’ basketball team smooth?

Andrew Fay (senior guard) has made it easy because I have been playing basketball with him since 2nd grade.

Bolden (Brace), Max (Henderson), and Chris (Wagonhurst) have helped me because I have played with all of them before on club teams. The guys made it easy to jump in and know what I was doing.

Nick is a junior who transferred to SBHS from Bishop Photo courtesy of Christopher Sink Your brother, Andy Busch was a star player on the Santa Barbara basketball team a few years ago. What have you learned from him that has prepared you to play at SBHS? I remember watching games when Andy would play against San Marcos. He really helped sparked my desire to accomplish the same things. Getting to see my older brother play at Santa Barbara was true inspiration for me. At SBHS, it has been cool getting to follow in his footsteps. I wear 14 because it was what Andy wore

as a Don. that age.

Who is your favorite athlete and why?

What are your goals both individually My favorite player is Lebron James and for the team as you progress because he is the man and the best player towards the end of the season? to ever play the game of basketball.

I hope the team can make it as far as possible in the CIF playoffs. Individually, I What is your favorite basketball want to be a good teammate and hopefully related memory? perform well enough to play in college. As I would say playing in the Anaheim far as college ball, if I could play Division Tournaments with the Vipers club 1 that would be awesome. But, playing for basketball team. Getting to spend an entire a Division 2 or 3 school would be great weekend playing basketball and sleeping as well. at a hotel with friends was tons of fun at

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January 30, 2015

Sports Buena scores late goal, Dons settle with tie Tyler Greenwald An early goal scored

by Alea Hyatt gave Editor-in-Chief the Santa Barbara girls soccer team hope that they could overcome the previously victorious Buena bulldogs. But after 70 minutes of adequate defense, and inconclusive offense, the Dons allowed the equalizer in the 72nd minute of the game, which later proved to be the final goal in a 1-1 draw on Tuesday at Peabody Stadium.

“We definitely were not satisfied,” said center back Shug Cvitanic. “We know we could’ve won that game and to let a goal in at that point in the game is obviously not what we were hoping for, but the best part was the reassurance that we can beat this team in the future.”

Hyatt’s unassisted goal came in only the third minute of the game.

“I got the ball and I ran down the line, said Hyatt. “I beat one player and then crossed it, then it hit one of their players and bounced in.”

No more than five minutes later, the Dons were given an avid opportunity to further extend their deficit when a cross from Julie Pitney connected with Hyatt eight feet out. Hyatt’s solid strike hooked just wide of the goal post, leaving the score at 1-0.

The next chance came only moments

Alea Hyatt scored Santa Barbara’s only goal in the 3rd minute against Buena on Tuesday.

Photo courtesy of Presidio Sports before the halftime whistle sounded when a laser shot by Erin Graf was blocked on a diving effort from Buena’s goalkeeper.

Santa Barbara’s newly advised head coach told Santa Barbara News Press: “I’m super excited about how the girls performed. We created multiple chances.

We were just unlucky and unfortunate not to finish a couple of them.”

The story was similar in the second

half, with multiple chances coming from both sides throughout. A counter attack by Buena in the 57th minute almost tied up the game, but Santa Barbara’s defense was relieved to see the attempt go wide.

In extra time, it was an offensive frenzy that went scoreless, thus concluding a 1-1 draw.

The Dons didn’t get their first win in Channel League until last week against

rival San Marcos. Santa Barbara is now 1-2-2 in league and is set to travel to Dos Pueblos on Tuesday where they will try to continue their momentum.

“The first time we played Dos Pueblos it was a really good game,” said Hyatt. “I thought we should have won. I think we have a good chance in winning this time around.”

Melgoza leads Dons past Buena 81-61 Blake DeVine Behind an impressive Sports Editor 37 points and 11 rebounds from Amber Melgoza, the Santa Barbara girls’ basketball team defeated Buena 81-61 during a Channel League matchup in Ventura on Tuesday night.

“We definitely played together as one unit. On defense, we picked it up right away after giving away a few baskets at the start,” said Melgoza. “Overall, our press pretty much won the game for us by causing them to turn the ball over really easily.”

Wins at the Bulldogs‘ home-court has traditionally been a difficult task for the Dons in the past. On this night, Santa Barbara dominated play throughout to emphatically beat Buena in their own house by 20 points.

This game marked a contest between second-place teams in the Channel League and top-10 teams in the CIF. However, Santa Barbara blew open a close game at the beginning of the second half to win in resounding fashion.

“In the first half, we turned the ball over and didn’t really identify their scorers. In the second half, we made some adjustments by taking care of the basketball and playing much better defense,” commented Dons head coach Andrew Butcher. “Then of course, our players effectively got the ball to Amber, who had a real strong second half.”

Jocelin Petatan had her largest scoring game of the season with 16 points for the Dons. Jada Howard played an allaround game, scoring 14 points, grabbing 9 rebounds and dishing out six assists.

Kimberly Gebhardt grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with four steals and Lili Ponce

Santa Barbara High’s Amber Melgoza scored 37 points during a victory over Buena on Tuesday.

Photo courtesy of Presidio Sports had four assists, five rebounds and three steals.

These efforts allowed Santa Barbara to outscore the Bulldogs 40-24 in the second half. At the break, the two teams were pitted in a close battle with the Dons leading 41-37.

When asked the team’s offensive strategy this season, Howard responded: “Opponents usually try to double-team Amber, which in most cases, leaves someone else open. If they are not doing

that, we try to set screens to get her open.

She is a smart player so she knows how to get around the defender in order to get open for the ball.”

Santa Barbara (16-4 overall), ranked fifth in CIF Division 2AA, finishes the first round of league play at 3-1. Buena (16-7 overall), second-ranked in Division 2A, falls to 2-2 in league.

“The two strengths to this year’s team are the defense and the fast break. We have done a really good job with those

two,” added coach Butcher. “If we can get our half-court offenses better, we could be a very solid team.”

The Dons matched up against archrival San Marcos yesterday. Santa Barbara will play Harvard Westlake at the Ventura Showcase Tournament on Saturday.

“Goal-wise, we definitely want to be co-league champs with Ventura,” concluded Melgoza. “The team wants to defeat Ventura because we have not been able to beat them for a very long time.”

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January 30. 2015

Sports

Nosotros prepare for crucial Channel League matchup versus DP Blake DeVine In order to reach their Sports Editor goal to win the Channel League title, the Santa Barbara boys soccer team is going to need to play very well during the final stretch of the season. With this in mind, the upcoming contest versus Dos Pueblos on Tuesday night at Scott O’Leary Stadium becomes even more intriguing.

“We are expecting to be Channel League champs so we need to win at Dos Pueblos. This requires us to give it our all and play game-by-game to hopefully win the title,” said senior defender Freddy Pacheco.

The Nosotros are currently ranked fifth in the latest CIF Division 1 polls and hold an impressive record of (14-3-4 overall, 4-1 league). However, the Chargers currently sit atop the Channel League with a record of (9-6-3 overall, 4-0 league).

“The best part about it is that fate is in our own hands. It’s going to come down to what we are able to accomplish on the field,” commented Santa Barbara head coach Todd Heil. “In order to win Channel League, we have to go out there and win on the road.”

Earlier this season, Dos Pueblos pulled out a 1-0 victory over Santa Barbara at Peabody Stadium. This victory moved the

Chargers into first place in the Channel League standings; a place they have yet to move from.

When asked the game plan for the upcoming match, attacking midfielder Brandon Sanchez replied: “To go out there and give it our all as a team. We need to play hard because we are only a few points behind and every game matters.”

Most recently, a goal in the 55th minute from Alvaro Lopez led the Nosotros past Buena 1-0 during a Channel League matchup in Ventura on Tuesday night.

“I thought we played well, connected together, and had possession most of the time,” chipped in Pacheco. “After scoring the first goal, we controlled the entire game.”

Santa Barbara capitalized on their crucial scoring opportunity when Lopez pounced on a loose ball to give the Nosotros the lead. Jorge Garcia Torres had ripped a shot just outside the 18-yard box that the Bulldogs’ keeper was unable to hold onto.

“I think we made the game a little more difficult than it needed to be by not tucking away a few more scoring opportunities in the first half,” added coach Heil.

“However, I thought our possession was

Santa Barbara midfielder Peter Ruiz battles for a ball during a matchup earlier this season.

Photo courtesy of Presidio Sports really good and now comes the next step of finishing the chances we have.”

The senior forward’s goal proved to be the only one that Santa Barbara would need on the night. In stoppage time, Angel Cervantes made a great save on a Buena free kick on top of the 18-yard box to preserve the win. This was the team’s 10th shutout on the season.

When asked the key to his team’s success thus far, Heil responded: “Our entire defense has done really well. I have got young players and there are sometimes three new starters back there including our goalkeeper. We thought our defense was something that we would have to grow and instead, it has been fantastic all season long.”

Santa Barbara vs. San Marcos boys basketball preview Tyler Greenwald The last time the Editor-in-Chief San Marcos boys’ basketball team stepped into the J.R. Richards Gymnasium last year, the Dons clinched the Channel League title. The year before that, history was made when former guard Noah Burke tossed up a half-court prayer that dropped with no time remaining on the clock to pace the Dons past the Royals with only a one point deficit separating the two teams.

If the streak continues, Santa Barbara High will be walking away with a “W” tonight.

The rivalry thus far this year has consisted primarily of San Marcos dominance with the Royals having already secured two wins on the season, only one of which was in league.

“We will be talking about this game for the rest of our lives,” said Santa Barbara junior Nick Busch. “We won’t want to be telling the story of how we went 0-2 in league against San Marcos, hopefully we will be talking about how we crushed them at home.”

It was not even two weeks ago in the Royals’ Thunderhut when the San Marcos student section lit up like a rock concert during starter introduction to ready their team and support it throughout a 10-point victory. 6’6 junior Scott Everman served as the catalyst for the Royals offense, finishing with 20 points.

“Their whole lineup can shoot the ball so everybody just needs to know where their man is the whole game,” said junior Bolden Brace. “ We definitely are going to need to shut down Scott Everman and make him take harder shots.”

Brace was able to outscore Everman by a pair, and he will likely need to put up a similar performance on Friday in order

Opposing star players Bolden Brace (left) and Scott Everman battle for a rebound in Wednesdays matchup at the Royals’ Thunderhut.

Photo courtesy of Presidio Sports for the Dons to get going offensively.

“We are going to need to speed the game up and get some easy buckets in transition,” said point guard Andrew Fay. “Other than that I don’t think we need to do anything differently.”

The Dons will have home court advantage against the Royals for the first time this season, and the enthusiastic crowd may be enough to help guide it’s team to victory.

“It’s going to be crazy, simple as that,” said Brace.

The Dons have strong starting

lineup, consisting of Bolden Brace, Chris Wagonhurst, Nick Busch, but unfortunately Scott Everman is not their only worry in the paint. The power duo of Kele Mkpado and Tyson Miller -- both of whom played with Brace and Busch on the same club team in middle school -- put up a collective 21 points last time these two teams squared off. Running the Royals’ offense is one Ryan McCarthy, a player adept at managing the tempo of the game while also posing a serious threat from the perimeter.

On the other end of the spectrum,

Scott Everman had some remarks on what his team would have to do to keep San Marcos’ momentum alive: “We need to continue working as a team and keep on playing for each other with a big emphasis on the defensive side end of the floor.”

The Santa Barbara Dons are 19-4 overall, 2-1 league heading into Friday’s game where they will take on the 17-4 overall, 3-0 in league Royals in a much anticipated rivalry affair.