Feb 20 2015

highlights

February 20, 2015 Volume 88, Issue 9 Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills, California beverlyhighlights.com

ROP hopeful to renew funding for next year Guy Ginsberg, sports editor

Three students, as well as head of ROP Cindy Dubin and Dean of College Admissions Ah Young Chi, spoke at a study session with the school board about funding for ROP classes in the 2015-16 school year on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

The session was called by Dubin after she was notified that classes such as culinary arts, robotics, entrepreneurship, media and film may not be funded next year.

“We went to ask the board for direction about funding, regardless of whether there was any state or county funding that ends up being available, because our district was notified in December that there would be no more categorical funding for these programs,” Dubin said. “I asked for a study session because, not only do we want to continue what we have, but we also want to expand the program.”

Dubin expressed how excited and hopeful she is to hear the board’s decision on the funding.

She also commended the students that spoke during the session for their passion and enthusiasm.

“The study session went really

Advanced Culinary Arts students rely on ROP funding to continue cooking. Photo by: GUY GINSBERG well. We got direction that the board has to vote on an actual budget in a couple weeks, but they were all very optimistic and positive and we are very excited to hear [their decision]. We had

three students speak, and they were fabulous. They represented a range of Beverly students and it was great to see that these courses are engaging for all different types of students,” Dubin

said. “Students were so poised and impressive and passionate about these areas, from robotics, entrepreneurship, media, film; they made a huge impression on the board.”

Senior producer of KBEV, Ashley Griffin, spoke at the meeting to advocate the expansion of the ROP program into middle schools, in addition to the high school.

“I spoke to share my story of how I grew into my leadership role as senior producer of KBEV, and came to advocate growth of ROP in the middle school level instead of solely high school,” Griffin said. “I think if we began programs like broadcasting, yearbook and a school newspaper at middle school level, [incoming freshmen] will have a good taste of what they like to do. Being yearbook editor in middle school really let me know how much I loved editorial work and made KBEV way more enticing.”

Dubin will work to bridge the gap for incoming freshmen.

“I’m going to be working now with the district office to come up with making some of our offerings that we have now more efficient, and building in new pathways for middle school all the way up to twelfth grade,” Dubin said. “This is a great opportunity to look at the whole program and try to improve in it.”

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Promise shown at Hackathon CAHSEE explained Ben Shofet, graphics editor When people think about hacking it is often associated with breaking into another’s website or social media account and using that information in malevolent manner. However, there is another form of hacking, in which people of all ages and backgrounds meet to create original, technology-based products.

These events are often attended by the largest technology companies in the world to help promote innovation among the next generation of hackers. These events are called Hackathons.

Hackathons have been around for decades within big technology companies, such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft. But only recently has the general public taken place in them.

“It’s like Top Chef for programmers, it’s a collaborative effort.

Hackathons are a 24 to 36 hour sprint of innovation. And you

don’t necessarily need to know how to hack to be able to go to a hackathon, it’s a learning and collaborative environment,” Beverly alumnus Justin Brezhnev said.

After graduating from Beverly in 2010 and UCLA in 2014, Brezhnev joined Hacker Fund, a company that helps create smaller hackathons at high schools across the nation, ranging, on average, from 100-300 people.

Currently Brezhnev is working on BeverlyHacks, a hackathon that will take place at Beverly Hills High School on March 19-20.

“We just did one in Silicon Valley called Hack GenY with 400 students. We get college mentors, to teach kids at a Hackathon level and we have them teach kids how to code,” Brezhnev said.

At Hack GenY many students from all over the nation commuted to Redwood, California, to participate in one of the many Hackathons that Hacker Fund produces each year.

INSIDE

Ari Berkowicz, a sophomore at Beverly, was just one of the many students who took park in Hack GenY. His team’s hack was a program that gave able bodied people a virtual simulation of what it is like to be in a wheelchair.

Berkowicz and his team placed third overall out of 80 other teams in the entire Hackathon.

At Hack GenY and other Hackathons in general, it is very common that people do not sleep for the entire duration of the competition, to maximise their proficiency during the competition.

“I took one nap that was two hours and the rest I was awake for 20-something hours,” Berkowicz said.

Hackathons are more than just the event alone. Many companies attend these hackathons to scout for future employees.

This is not the full edition of the article: ‘Hackathon’s: A New Era.’ visit beverlyhighlights.com to read the full article.

Lucas Harward, staff writer The California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) is more than just a test that all students must take and pass in order to graduate. The CAHSEE, despite being a nuisance in the eyes of the majority of students, holds great importance for Beverly. Importance of such a caliber that makes it necessary to further inform the student body on what it means to take the CAHSEE. Beverly receives Title I funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), passed by the Bush Administration, reauthorized the ESEA to require schools that receive Title I funding to establish measurable goals to track the school’s improvement. Each individual state can develop their own standards, and the state of California primarily uses the California High School Exit Exami-

nation (CAHSEE).

This year, Beverly was identified for Program Improvement (PI) by the California Department of Education because it did not meet one of the requirements stipulated by the state of California.

“Program Improvement is a condition of the federal government that requires districts that receive federal funding, called Title I, to achieve at a specific performance level set by the federal government,” Dr. Jennifer Tedford, the Chief Academic Officer of BHUSD, said. “The current performance level is 100 percent proficiency on the CAHSEE. Also required is a 90 percent graduation rate and participation rate on the CAHSEE. Beverly entered Program Improvement status because it did not meet the 100 percent proficiency target on the CAHSEE.”

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NEWS

CULTURE OPINION

Seniors begin tutoring service

Grand Central Market in DTLA

this issue

@bhhighlights

@bhhighlights

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/beverlyhighlights

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‘Better Call Saul’ airs on AMC.

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www.beverlyhighlights.com

HIGHLIGHTS NEWS February 20, 2015

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Service Learning freshens approach Karen Shilyan staff writer Service Learning is coordinating their second semester events with the promise of a more direct approach to supporting the student body. In addition to several new events, they have removed year-long traditions that haven’t

produced a strong turnout from students.

Service Learning co-chairs Shawna Mashian and Tina Youabian led the initiative to discontinue activities such as Staff Karaoke and Relay for Life in order to pursue events that members are more passionate about and, in turn, spur

a drive for student involvement.

“We decided that it was a good idea to break away from the events that we were less passionate about and to start new events that the students in our class were really excited about,” Mashian said. “We wanted to branch out with events that some of the students spear-

A Thousand Words: Heads up

Beverly fans hold up head-shaped cut-outs of their favorite players and cheer at the boys basketball home against Samo. Beverly came out on top and won the first seed at CIF. Photo by: CAMILLE BERGHER

headed themselves instead of events we’ve done traditionally.”

Students can expect to see new events such as Mental Wellness Week and a Service Learning side project, Bundles for Babies.

“We’re trying to get a weeklong promotion of mental wellness and physical well-being on campus.

We want to promote students to take care of themselves during finals week,” Youabian said. “We’re planning on doing small things that will perk the student body up so that they know the school looks after them and cares about them during stressful times.”

Senior Joy Won is a leading force for Bundles for Babies, a project in which Service Learning plans to use sewing machines and baby flannel in order to make baby blankets. They plan to make over 25 blankets throughout the semester with the hopes of delivering them to babies in need.

In correlation with Service Learning’s new hands-on approach, Bundles for Babies serves a direct purpose and allows participating members to see their impact firsthand.

However, second semester isn’t just about new changes for Service Learning. They will continue to carry on traditional events such as Hair Donations, the Prom Dress Drive and the Shoe Drive.

Highlights Juliette Deutsch and Jackson Prince editors-in-chief

Marty Schnapp news editor

Guy Ginsberg sports editor

Sadie Hersh photo editor

Ben Shofet

graphics editor

Karen Shilyan

business manager

Veronica Pahomova cartoonist

Eleanor Bogart -Stuart, Amanda Christovich, Lolita Gorbacheva, Lucas Harward, Veronica Pahovoma and Celine Rezvani, staff writers Gaby Herbst

adviser ­— The mission of Highlights is to deliver community-relevant news in a timely manner while adhering to professional ethics.

Highlights is a forum for student free expression that is produced by the Advanced Journalism class of Beverly Hills High School, 241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Letters to the editor may be sent to beverlyhighlights@gmail.com.

Visit beverlyhighlights.com Follow @bhhighlights on Twitter and Instagram.

C∆lifornia makes Beverly debut on front lawn Eleanor Bogart-Stuart staff writer A new, student-run band took the stage at Beverly on Tuesday during lunch. California, comprised of three Normans, plays covers of mainly alternative rock bands. Their performance featured songs like “Sail” by Awolnation and “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?” by the Arctic Monkeys.

The band is headed by lead singer and guitarist sophomore Taylor Briggs.

“It was surprisingly easy to get together. I just found my bass player and best friend turned out to be my piano player,” Briggs said.

Bass player Stephan Kim is a junior, while keyboardist Marcello Terrasi is a sophomore.

“I joined basically as a favor for Taylor. I picked up the bass in

music manifested thanks to father, Tim Briggs, who teaches photography at Beverly and has been in his own band before.

“My dad is definitely the reason I’m where I’m at right now,” Taylor smiled. “My dad was in a group called ‘Alabama’, so that’s where we got our name, just as a giggle.

(From right to left) Kim, Briggs, Terrasi perform for a crowd at their Tuesday lunch perWe might change formance. Photo courtesy of: ELIZABETH DEL ROSARIO it in the future, though.” middle school for orchestra. HowBriggs learned and honed his Taylor’s brother, drummer Benever, I was inspired by Geddy Lee skills for guitar during his eight of Rush to actually pick up and years at music school. Although he jamin Briggs, joined Kim and practice electric bass,” Kim said. trained at school, his passion for Terassi on the front lawn during

ROP might lose funding

Continued from Page 1 As far as the pathways to assist the transition into these electives for students entering the high school, Dubin, as well as the Career Technology Education Advisory Committee (known as CTEAC, which consists of advisors from the high school as well as each K-8 school) are going to meet and discuss which career sector they would like to focus on.

“There are industry sectors, like arts, media, entertainment, engineering, design, hospitality, tourism, education, public services; and we will be working with the CTEAC to see, as a district, if there is one sector that we want to focus

on and make common at all four sites,” Dubin said.

The program will also change its name from ROP to Career Technical Education (CTE). Some states have also changed the name further, to Career and Technology Education due to the fact that most of the electives involved have a technology component.

“Districts around the country are realizing that the format of CTE, project based learning, is a great STEM delivery strategy. In a way it furthers the district’s initiative in the STEM area and broadens that type of learning, problem solving and project based learning to all different disciplines,” Dubin said.

Dubin is also working with the Los Angeles County Office of Education to transform some of Beverly’s elective offerings into UCApproved electives.

“It’s a good direction to go in. It doesn’t change the nature of the courses really, and so that is just another step in what we need to do to still offer these courses in the Fall,” Dubin said.

Dubin will be meeting again with the board in a couple weeks to present a budget for the programs Beverly hopes to offer next year.

Dubin will continue to work with the Los Angeles County Office of Education to also improve the UCApproved electives.

lunch on Tuesday for their first performance for the Beverly student body.

“I live next door to Taylor’s girlfriend and parents. I’ve only seen him perform with his girlfriend Gabby playing the guitar, but this is the first time I’ve heard him in a band and sing,” adult neighbor Nina Cohen said of the band’s recent performance. “I was blown away by the band.”

California performed for the first time for students at the front lawn during lunch on Tuesday. Several kids photographed or filmed the impromptu gig.

“They obviously rehearsed a lot and I respect that. They were really concerned with how good the acoustics were and obviously spent a lot of time practicing everything,” sophomore Bennett Gershwin said.

What CAHSEE means to Beverly Continued from Page 1 That’s right. A 100 percent proficiency rate.

If Beverly continues to have trouble meeting this goal over the next couple of years, major changes could be put in place, changes that Tedford does not hope to instill.

“Beverly students and staff need to work together to meet the federal requirements, specifically the requirement we did not meet. We will certainly renew our focus on CAHSEE achievement, and so students will undoubtedly notice

their participation in this focused effort,” she said.

Senior Josh Schenk points out the perceived lack of significance of the CAHSEE and how it holds much more value than only acting as a graduation tool.

“Unfortunately, most students always viewed the CAHSEE as a test that just needed to be passed to graduate. But the CAHSEE is also a benchmark for our school. If students realize the significance of this test, the scores should be able to improve by at least 10 percent,” Schenk said.

HIGHLIGHTS FEBRUARY 20, 2015

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HIGHLIGHTS SPOTLIGHT FEBRUARY 20, 2015

Make it Rain Student  money  investigation  case  solved Eleanor Bogart- Stuart staff writer Veronica Pahomova cartoonist Lolita Gorbacheva staff writer The  annual  school  supply  hunt  is  an  expensive  but  accepted  ritual.  Students  also  pay  for  ickets  for  plays,  music  con-­ certs  and  sports  games.  The  prices  for  these  are  expected  and  reasonable,  as  they  go  toward  their  respective  pro-­ grams.  But  the  story  doesn’t  seem  to  be  as  clear  when  it  comes  to  AP  tests,  parking  permits  and  ASB.  These  things  begin  to  truly  add  up,  and  many  stu-­ dents  don’t  even  know  where  the  mon-­ ey  they’re  spending  is  going.  To  clear  up  the  confusion  and  settle  any  wor-­ ries,  Highlight’s  has  uncovered  the  facts  about  how  the  Norman  Nation’s  money  is  being  spent.  $FFRUGLQJ WR $6% ÂżQDQFH WHFKQLFLDQ Patricia  Garcia,  the  program  that  han-­ dles  the  income  of  the  school  is  called  Active  Network  and  it  is  run  by  School  Books.  School  Books  is  an  account-­ ing  program  that  receives  income  and  deposits  it  into  a  school  program.  The  program  divides  the  money  into  several  individual  accounts  for  ASB  to  utilize  as  well  as  one  separate  checking  account.  AP  classes  are  made  available  to  stu-­ dents  starting  sophomore  year  with  AP  Biology  and  AP  European  Histpry.  In Â

order  for  the  class  to  count,  however,  students  must  take  an  important  test  given  by  the  College  Board  and  strive  WR JHW D IRXU RU ÂżYH 7KHVH $3 WHVWV however,  are  not  cheap.  The  lengthy  exam  costs  at  least  $100  for  the  early  IHH DW OHDVW IRU WKH ÂżUVW ODWH IHH and  at  least  $175  for  the  second  late  fee.  The  money  is  used  to  pay  for  the  exam  and  any  extra  income  goes  to  the  counselor  department,  which  in  turn  goes  to  AP  counseling  conferences.     “With  that,  we  purchase  the  money  for  AP  ex-­ ams.  It’s  not  very  cheap.  There  are  s t u d e n t s  who  are  on  the  free  and  reduced  lunch  program,  so  they  can  receive  a  fee  waiver.  But  their  fee  waivers  don’t  cover  $89,  so  we  have  to  also  cover  the  balance  of  what  they’re  not  able  to  pay,â€?  Dean  of  College  Ad-­ missions  Ah  Young  Chi  said.   “We  also  have  to  hire  proctors  from  outside  of  the  school  to  come  and  actually  proc-­ tor  the  exam.  All  of  us  are  either  teach-­ ing  or  doing  work.  They’re  not  cheap. Â

They’re  all  retired  teachers.  We  also  send  our  AP  teachers  to  conferences  so  they  can  improve  their  classes.  Every  year,  one  or  two  classes  change  their  curriculum  so  we  have  to  be  on  top  of  that.�

Students  who  wish  to  drive  to  school  are  also  expected  to  pay  for  parking  on  campus.  But  on  top  of  the  expense  of  the  new  ride,  they  also  have  to  worry  about  the  cost  of  a  parking  spot.  The  $300  price  tick-­ et  for  a  p e r m i t  is  not  so  p o p u l a r  among  the  s t u d e n t  body.  “It  is  way  over  priced  and  it  does  not  make  sense  that  it  costs  me  $300  to  have  a  parking  spot  on  my  own  campus,  but  I  pay  for  it  anyways  because  what  else  am  I  going  to  do?  Walk  home?â€?  junior  Jonny  Hakimi  said.  The  money  for  parking  permits  goes  to  a  general  fund,  which  is  a  fundraiser  for  the  entire  student  body.  This  money  ¿UVW JRHV LQWR D SDUNLQJ DFFRXQW ZKLFK then  becomes  the  general  fund  income.  This  income  forms  the  yearly  starting Â

“It  is  way  over  priced  and  it  does  not  make  sense  that  it  costs  me  $300  to  have  a  parking  spot  on  my  own  campus,  but  I  pay  for  it  any-­ ways  because  what  else  am  I  going  to  do?  Walk  home?�

balance  for  events  such  as  the  ones  ASB  holds.  This  account  is  also  used  to  pro-­ vide  money  for  students  who  are  start-­ ing  a  club  or  anything  else  that  would  UHTXLUH ¿QDQFLDO DVVLVWDQFH )RU WKH ¿UVW VHYHUDO PRQWKV RI WKH school  year,  ASB  cards  were  advertised  as  being  vital  for  any  student  in  school.  Instant  access  into  sports  games,  deals  on  school  events,  even  a  sticker  on  your  ID.  But  this  magic  card  cost  $60.  Though  the  privileges  this  sticker  gave  were  endless,  many  wonder  where  ex-­ actly  their  money  was  going.  The  $60  goes  straight  to  ASB  and  the  events  they  create  and  oversee.  Without  that  money,  the  ethnic  Taco  Tuesdays  and  joyous  Spirit  Week  would  cease  to  exist.  2YHUDOO WKH ¿QDQFHV DUH VWUDWHJLFDOO\ regulated.  No  one’s  money  is  being  placed  into  a  secret  fund  for  a  staff  din-­ ner  at  Mastro’s  Stakehouse.  Each  cent  is  being  placed  into  reliable  hands  and  is  put  toward  necessary,  school  related  places.

Editorial

Student  spending  becomes  complacent  Highlights  asked  the  question,  “Where  forming  arts  has  been  on  a  steady  de-­ does  the  money  that  students  pay  for  cline.  Several  programs  such  as  robotics  throughout  the  year  go?�  After  word  of  and  choir  turn  to  exhausting  fundraisers  underfunding  for  ROP  programs  and  to  support  their  own  expenses.   Several  performing  arts  came  to  the  paper’s  teachers  in  charge  of  extracurricular  attention,  Highlights  decided  to  delve  courses  have  expressed  their  concern  deeper  into  an  issue  widely  ignored  because  of  the  state  of  essential  class-­ by  the  general  student  population.  Yet,  this  shouldn’t  be  the  news-­ paper’s  main  concern.  While  Highlights  refus-­ es  to  cease  in  its  quest  for  truth  and  facts,  stu-­ dents  must  take  some  sort  of  interest  and  pre-­ rogative  in  the  aspects  that  form  our  lives.  Stu-­ dents  must  ask  these  questions  of  author-­ ity  if  concerns  arise.  Students  must  doubt,  question  and  care  be-­ fore  merely  accepting  a  Cartoon  by  VERONICA  PAHOMOVA reality.

The  reality  is  that  students  pay  for  room  materials.   Many  of  the  current  school-­related  accommodations,  like  materials,  from  lighting  in  the  theater  parking  spots  and  ASB  cards,  without  to  cameras  in  KBEV  are  outdated,  and  asking  the  necessary  questions.  We  pay,  do  not  give  students  the  opportunity  to  DQG VRRQ ÂżQG RXUVHOYHV FRQIXVHG E\ WKH work  with  the  best  tools  out  there. broken  record  of  the  District’s  budget  Now  you  might  be  asking,  “What  are  blues.  Funding  for  athletics  and  per-­ we  paying  for?  Where  does  my  money Â

go?�  But  the  students  have  not  asked  these  questions.

Different  payments  serve  different  purposes.  For  example,  the  parking  per-­ mit  payments  do  not  go  to  pay  teacher  salaries.  Teacher  salaries  are  paid  by  Beverly  Hills  taxpayers  and  have  no Â

connection  to  the  fees  paid  to  the  stu-­ dent  store.  The  money  that  Highlights  and  Watchtower  collect  continuously  goes  into  an  ASB  account.  That  account  can  be  used  for  anything  that  ASB  needs  WR SD\ IRU HYHQ LI LW GRHV QRW EHQHÂżW Highlights  or  Watchtower  directly,  all Â

while  ASB  continues  to  support  student  organizations  throughout  the  year.  This  failure  of  investigation  and  con-­ stant  complaining  by  the  student  body  part  stems  from  a  larger  issue:  the  com-­ placency  of  our  generation.  Older  gen-­ erations  have  already  written  us  off  as  lazy  and  rebellious,  self-­absorbed  and  ignorant.   We’ve  had  our  fair  share  of  moments  showcasing  such  traits.  But  the  inactivity  of  our  generation  isn’t  a  permanent  marker.  We  can  change  this  trend  of  being  the  useless  generation.  It  is  the  reminder  that  we  can  do  better.  We  can  wake  up  and  start  to  ask  these  vital  questions.

What  stops  a  gunman  from  walk-­ ing  onto  an  open  campus?  What  has  caused  the  recent  success  of  many  of  Beverly’s  extracurriculars?  Where  does  my  money  go  when  I  pay  to  support  the  school?

In  order  to  escape  this  stereotype  and  culture,  our  generation  has  to  actually  make  an  attempt  to  change.  We  must  be  interested,  willing,  curious,  active  and  informed.  We  must  take  it  upon  RXUVHOYHV WR ¿QG WKH DQVZHUV ZH VR seek,  because  not  everything  can  always  be  handed  to  us.

All  we  have  to  do,  Norman  Nation,  is  ask  a  few  questions.

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HIGHLIGHTS CULTURE February 20, 2015

Grand Central Market: an emergence of culture Juliette Deutsch co-editor-in-chief

Grand Central Market, open since 1917, has been a landmark for foodies across Los Angeles.

The market, composed of a multitude of vendors and trendy food stands, serves as a hub to showcase the different cuisines and cultures of the Los Angeles foodscape. Its location in downtown LA is a location that brings

together all cultures.

The concept of a food emporium started with the opening of Grand Central Market. This idea of a marketplace is what inspired Chef Todd English in his Plaza Hotel Food Hall in New York in 2011.

Here are my favorite picks from the marketplace.

EggSlut 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles EggSlut was first started as a food truck by Chef Alvin Cailin.

The menu, is made up of a variety of delicious sandwiches, all on freshly baked brioche buns. One of my favorites include The Fairfax, a combination of soft scrambled eggs, chives, cheddar, caramelized onions and Sriracha. The Fairfax is the perfect mix between spicy and sweet. If you are in the mood for a classic, check out the bacon, egg and cheese with hardwood smoked bacon, over-medium egg, cheddar and chipotle ketchup.

Wexler’s Deli 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles

Russ and Daughters cafe on the Lower East Side of New York is is the ultimate rival of Wexler Deli in LA. and the sights and sounds of Grand Central Market is where Los Angeles and its flavors meld into something unique. If you stop by, I recommend The Smoked Salmon Plate served on a warm homemade bagel by Chef Brian Gruntz, accompanied with the classic capers, crispy onions and cream cheese.

At Grand Central Market, only the line for EggSlut can rival the one at Wexler’s.

G&B Coffee 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles Baristas Kyle Glanville and Charles Babinski collectively founded G&B Coffee. Serving coffees, espresso drinks, and teas selected from the world’s top roasters and farms, this Italian counter-style coffee shop serves as an instant market classic. I reccomend the sweet milk latte.

The EggSlut Fairfax and Traditional sandwich. Photos by: JULIETTE DETUSCH

Although Russ and Daughters Cafe in New York City will always be home to my favorite lox and bagel combo, and arguably the best in Manhattan, Wexler’s Deli brings me a little piece of NYC and gives Russ and Daughters a run for their money. A Wexler’s lox bagel at the counter with a quality macchiato

Tutoring for you

Murayama Internet success

Lucas Harward staff writer

Marty Schnapp news editor

Seniors Daniel Newman and Aaron Boudaie are the founders of TutorYou Beverly Hills, a self-run tutoring business, which launched in December of 2014.

Newman, an El Rodeo graduate, and Boudaie, a Horace Mann graduate, hope to separate their business from the competition with their insider experience in the Beverly Hills school system.

“I noticed that a lot of parents hire tutors who are college graduates that don’t necessarily understand the curriculum at hand, so we decided to create TutorYou BH to cater to the elementary and middle school students, since we graduated middle school in BHUSD ourselves,” Newman said. “We’re very familiar with the curriculum and can teach the students while giving them a very comfortable environment to work in.”

The two friends also charge pric-

es that are, they believe, lower than other tutoring businesses.

“Because we’re high school students and we’re not supporting ourselves, we’re able to charge affordable prices,” Boudaie said.

Newman and Boudaie are currently the only tutors for TutorYou; however, they are not opposed to the idea of expanding.

“Right now our focus is on serving as many students as possible, but, looking forward, if we have too many students for us two to handle, we’ll look to hire new tutors to help us out,” Boudaie said.

And as their days at Beverly come to a close, they will have to address the future of TutorYou BH for when they graduate and possibly leave Beverly Hills.

“I’m hopeful that we can go to universities nearby and continue running the company, but we haven’t given much thought to it because we’re focused on the present and serving our students,” Newman said.

TutorYou founders Aaron Boudaie (left) and Daniel Newman (right).

Photo Courtsey of TutorYou

Junior Joe Murayama is a filmmaker who creates videos, primarily for Youtube and Vine, using professional-grade visual effects (VFX).

Murayama recently reached 9,000 subscribers on his Youtube channel, PixelStormFilms. He also publishes content on Vine, on which he has over 28,000 followers and 11,000,000 total views.

“I started from watching Youtube videos, like this guy named Freddy W who makes content similar to what I make. I watched Youtube videos and tutorials to do what he was doing because I was interested, and now I’m here doing the same kind of stuff,” Murayama said.

Connections with Youtubers and Viners resulted in the birth of Murayama’s Vine career. He has done collaborations with Viners such

in, and I told him to hit me up if he ever needed effects for his Vines.

That was when my Vine life started,” Murayama said.

Murayama’s trademark is that many of his videos are inspired by video games.

“I specifically like doing things like video games in real life, like real-life objects interacting with computer-generated animations,” Murayama said.

The average video takes him about a month to make, assuming he works on it for at least two hours each day.

“The process starts with writ-

Joe Murayama creates own original video content.

to shoot the video, and we film it for what is usually a day or two, but sometimes longer. Finally, I go into my editing phase and do all of the special effects,” Murayama said.

Murayama realized quickly that filmmaking was his passion.

“I realized that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life right when I started, because it’s really fun,” Murayama films a video to be published on his YouTube account, PixelStormFilms. Photos courtesy of: Murayama JOE MURAYAMA said.

Murayaas Logan Paul, Curtis Lepore and ing the story, and then writing a ma plans for larger projects in the storyboard, which becomes a shot future. “I plan to collborate with Josh Peck.

“I was actually a VFX supervisor list that shows the story shot-by- people in the Youtube communifor a shoot that Logan [Paul] was shot. Next, we gather some friends ty,” Murayama said.

7

HIGHLIGHTS OPINION FEBRUARY 20, 2015

Snapchat increases the social media standard Sadie Hersh photo editor

You get a notification that your friend snapchatted you while you are at the market. After you open the snapchat, you look around to see if anyone is looking, find the perfect lighting and take a selfie.

On the first try, you blinked and the sound went off and everyone turns to look at you. Don’t act like you haven’t done this before, we all do it.

Snapchat, in its early days, was a simple and clear concept. Its original purpose was to “snap” a picture and “chat” with whoever your best friends were and the picture would disappear in up to 10 seconds. Fast forward to 2015 where Snapchat is

now considered to be a serious social media platform and not just a comical way to send pictures.

Snapchat gives users the opportunity to post stories of what they are doing, which stays up for 24 hours. It lets you add effects on your photo along with geofilters that depend on your location.

Geofilters are entertaining graphics that you can access based on where you are, whether you are in Vegas, New York City or Beverly Hills. Beverly recently acquired its own geofilter. It says “Beverly today well lived” in orange and black letters. People are also able to Facetime and text friends with Snapchat. You can even send

money to a friend’s bank account with their new “Snap cash” update.

One of Snapchat’s latest update is discover, which allows users to quickly stay updated with the latest information from People magazine to CNN. Each news publication is given its own Snapchat story to bring news to the app’s users. It gives people access to videos, articles, pictures, recipes and music.

With all these updates to the app, Snapchat is being looked at as a more serious social media platform, whereas before it was seen as unprofessional and people were judged for taking a selfie in public.

Our age has witnessed the evolution of technology, starting with

the first generation of iPods to the newest iPhone 6. As the technology develops, so do the applications over which we are constantly obsess. In order to keep up with the evolution of technology, apps must continue to stay relevant.

As soon as you get used to the newest update, another update is released. The competition between app companies is increasing daily. Each app wants to remain relevant in a time where styles, from fashion to technology, come and go all the time. In order to stay dominant, apps need to regularly change their appearance and offer their users more of an excuse to obsess over the app.

The simple concept of Snapchat has been taken over by the need to constantly update in order to stay relevant, straying away from its original purpose.

Celebrities are beginning to get Snapchat accounts to keep their fans posted with what they are doing. The app serves the purpose of a visual Twitter account for celebrities to post live videos and pictures. Big companies, like MTV, have Snapchat accounts to post the latest red carpets or other events.

What happened to the simple concept of Snapchat? With geofilters, discover, stories and messaging, the app has expanded into a major profitable business.

‘Better Call Saul’ finally answers the phone

Ben Shofet, graphics editor Finally, the moment has arrived!

After two years of dreadfully waiting, the spin-off of arguably one the the greatest dramas of all time, “Breaking Bad”, has arrived. “Better Call Saul” finally made it to our screens, and with it, a record breaking 6.9 million views during its premiere on Feb. 7.

In the opening scene, there was a feeble Saul Goodman, now

known as Jim McGill, managing a Cinnabon in Nebraska. And if you remember, back in “Breaking Bad” he mentioned that he’d be lucky if in a couple of months he’d be managing a Cinnabon in Nebraska.

The highly anticipated premier proved to be just as exciting as “Breaking Bad” with the shocking return of Tuco Salamanca and Mike Ehrmantraut in the days before their interactions with the notorious Heisenberg. And these two

characters are not the only things that carried over from “Breaking Bad.” There were plenty of other in the pilot, from McGill’s iconic Cadillac to the nail salon through which Jesse Pinkman once laundered his money. These references are not only sure to please “Breaking Bad” fans, but solve the unanswered questions left over from the show.

“Better Call Saul” might not be as action-packed as Breaking Bad,

but it is surely as captivating as “Breaking Bad”. McGill’s charisma makes the show very dialogueoriented. In the scene where he was planning his infamous ‘Slippin Jimmy Act,’ McGill’s way with words is present as he said, “I’m number one on your speed dial, right next to your weed dealer.”

This is the type of dialogue that captivates millions into watching “Better Call Saul”. This is the type of dialogue that will continue to re-

appear throughout the show.

“Better Call Saul” will not be about violent drug affairs in the New Mexican desert, nor will it be about the secretive affairs within a family. “Better Call Saul” will be about the comedic but droll transformation of a young James McGill into a devious Saul Goodman, and it will be great.

“Better Call Saul” airs on Mondays at 10 p.m. PST on AMC. Three episodes have aired.

Battle of the breads: Take a bite of Beverly Dr. Veronica Pahomova cartoonist Eleanor Bogart-Stuart staff writer

our sandwich.

Although not expecting anything revolutionary from such a basic choice, we did have standards for the quality of the ingredients and the general taste. However, we were disappointed in our first bite.

The bread was leathery and tasteless. Although the turkey was flavorful, it couldn’t save the overall product.

The best part of this sandwich was the atmosphere we attempted to eat it in.

The Slim #4 sandwich from Jimmy John’s.

Photos by VERONICA PAHOMOVA. A burgeoning rivalry among a competing trio has begun to manifest itself right under our noses.

Three different sandwich shops can now boast residency on Beverly Drive: the popular chain Subway, the ignored Jersey Mike’s and the new shop in town, Jimmy John’s. Generally, they all sell the same product: sandwiches. But which sub store can make the best one?

Highlights tackled the challenge scientifically, and concluded that the best way to compare each restaurant was to to order the most basic meal available: the turkey sandwich.

ported to an old sandwich place from the 80s. The design, the music, the entire atmosphere makes us feel like we should be wearing a pair of leg warmers and watching Molly Ringwald sew a dress. And now for the food. Going along with our basic turkey sandwich rule, we ordered an item called the Slim #4, composed only of turkey and bread. After a fair wait of about eight to ten minutes, we received

Subway: 250 S Beverly Dr $6.15

Upon entering Subway, our expectations dropped instantly. It’s hard to pinpoint what was so unattractive about the shop: the faux Italian countryside printed on the walls or the dim and dingy atmosphere of the place itself.

Unlike Jimmy John’s, Subway’s food is instant. There is no wait.

But an instant meal seemed to come at the price of something more important than time: quality ingredients and satisfying flavor.

We decided to order the cheapest and most basic turkey sandwich off the $6 menu. To make an understatement, the food was not what we had hoped for after the experience we had at Jimmy John’s. The combination of flavorless turkey, cheese and brittle lettuce did not make a winning combination.

The key to eating at Subway is ordering a bunch of fattening sauces. The ingredients themselves lack flavor and quality. The best part of the meal was the pre-packaged chips.

Jersey Mike’s Subs: 279 S Beverly Dr $5.70

Jimmy John’s: 168 S Beverly Dr. $3.89 It was clear that our first stop, Jimmy John’s, had more on its mind than just food. The minute we enter the restaurant the first thing we hear is the sound of smooth rock on the radio. By entering Jimmy John’s, we are trans-

The Jersey Mike’s most basic turkey sandwich, complete with lettuce, turkey and their special seasoning. This was the winner of the contest.

A $6 sub from Subway filled with lettuce, turkey and cheese. An overall bland and unenjoyable sandwich in a claustrophobic and dingy store.

Jersey Mike’s, right on the corner of Gregory and Beverly, stood as a pinnacle of hope and desperation.

Just like the other two sub shops, we ordered the most basic turkey sandwich available at the store for $5.70. Right away, the first thing that stood out was the customer service. Not only were we engaged in friendly conversation within the first few minutes, but we were given a demonstration of the “Mike’s

Way” of making a sandwich. This combination of oil, vinegar, oregano and salt was their basic seasoning and something Jersey Mike’s put on every sandwich. The chain even has a student deal: if you show a valid student I.D., you receive a free drink and chips.

Without even tasting it, we knew the sandwich was light years away from what Subway and Jimmy John’s provided. The turkey was flavorful, the bread was satisfying and, as a whole, it was what Highlights would call a perfect sandwich.

The Jersey Mike’s sub was simply a breath of fresh air compared to the other competitors. Flavorful, fresh, simple: something we had hoped all the different sub shops would have delivered. This contest was, unfortunately, all too easy. The clear winner of the sandwich showdown is Jersey Mike’s.

Although it should be pretty obvious to the rest of the shops, Jersey Mike’s was the only place that executed the winning formula of quality service and good taste. Beverly Dr may have three sandwich shops, but only one with quality.

8

HIGHLIGHTS SPORTS FEBRUARY 20, 2015

In a land of winter woes, basketball shines bright Guy Ginsberg sports editor

Girls varsity soccer Girls soccer, led by coach Rinaldi Djafar and captains Lauren Kurtz, Leila Sadeghi, Shannon Hagins and Emily Massachi never really connected on the pitch this year, falling to last place in Ocean League with a record of 0-10.

However, varsity player Carli Stein wants Normans to know that the final scores didn’t reflect the team.

“I loved our team this year.

While our season was rough, the scores did not reflect our actual games, and we all tried very hard for each other. Many of our losses were very close, and we should have won more games but we were unlucky in the end,” Stein said.

Girls water polo Girls water polo, led by coach John Mikuzis and captains An-

gelica Harrop and Rachel Eshtiaghpour, ended the season with an 0-5 record in Ocean League. However, the girls on the team took this season with a grain of salt, and are ready to come back fighting next year.

“Playing water polo at this high school is very difficult. With limited pool time and not always having the best schedule we always have to try and make things work. The girls are great and have the desire to play, even with the limited practice we had we still made the best of it and tried to have the best season we could,” varsity player Melissa Roberts said.

Girls varsity basketball Girls basketball, while showcasing a few stars, failed to gain many league wins. The team fell to a to a 2-8 Ocean League record under coach John Braddell and captains

Jessica Melamed and Raina Castaneda. Regardless of their record, they made it into playoffs and played their first CIF game yesterday, Feb. 19, at home against Ocean View High School. (Score unavailable in time for press.)

“We had a really bad season but we all built a bond and friendship as a team that we will never forget.

We could have improved our record but it’s okay because we are in the playoffs. Playoffs are a whole new season and we have to work hard to go far,” Melamed said.

Boys varsity basketball Boys basketball was the most successful sports team this winter.

Led by coach Jarvis Turner and captains Chance Comanche and Jalen Sands, BevBall earned first place in Ocean League after going undefeated with a 9-0 record and sweeping main rival Santa Moni-

Wrestling hosts league finals Ben Shofet graphics editor For the first time in its schools history, Beverly’s wrestling team hosted league finals on Feb. 12 in the Swim Gym. For coach Ryan Faintich, this was more than just hosting league for the first time.

Faintich hoped to publicize the tournament to the entire school in order to help the sport gain some recognition among the athletic community.

“I was tremendously excited because it was a great opportunity to showcase the sport of wrestling in front of BHHS,” Faintich said. “I think the first step is to kind of get our culture and our school aware of how great wrestling is as a sport and how cool it is to watch. And having our league finals for, liter-

ally the first time in our history, was a really great opportunity for our school, but more importantly our wrestlers to wrestle in front of their home crowd and perhaps advance to the playoffs.”

Many of the wrestlers also felt that hosting league would be a great advantage for their upcoming matches.

“I was feeling really excited since it was the first time we were going to have league finals at Beverly. Through my past years at high school I’ve had to go to other schools to wrestle and now that it was at my own school I was feeling a lot more comfortable,” varsity wrestler Mohamad Sadeghi said.

However, hosting league brought different challenges to the team than other tournaments.

“It took a lot of prep because we needed to have a lot of mats from a lot of different schools. We also needed to get scoreboards and other stuff like that,” Sadeghi said.

The wrestling program felt the pressure to prepare both physically and mentally for their upcoming tournament.

“I was very excited. I knew we were going to do very well and I encouraged everyone to come out and watch us win,” varsity wrestler Samuel Cohen said. “But we needed to be more mentally and physically in shape because we were going to be wrestling at home.”

At the tournament, wrestlers Raven Castro, Greg Yaroshevsky, Mohamed Sadhegi, Elijah Klapper and Kyle Khalili all won medals in front of their home crowd.

ca. Their spectacular League play earned them a seed of #1 out of 31 teams in CIF Southern Section Division 3A. “Our season started off a little rocky. We had some kinks we had to work out. Once we figured those out, there was no looking back. We were extremely focused and wanted to win league, especially after hearing the talks of Lawndale and SAMO being better than us. This motivated us and as a result we went undefeated and are now on a 13+ game winning streak. Hopefully we can maintain that focus and energy for CIF. I think if we do that we will be very hard to beat,” varsity player Max Walder said.

Boys basketball’s next game is a home playoff game today, Feb. 20 at home against Hoover.

Boys varsity soccer Boys soccer wasn’t very successful this season, though a young roster shows promise for the future.

Led by coach Ryan Franks and captains Miguel Ramirez and Cole Offer, the team fell to last place in league with a 1-8 record. They suffered many injuries, most notably to captain Cole Offer. However, varsity player P.J. Goolsby speaks for the whole team when he says that next season will be different.

“Season didn’t go the way we

wanted it to. We had a lot of trouble with injuries. We played a new system and we all really worked on it but it’s hard to settle in when the lineup isn’t stable. We could’ve improved our effort when everything started getting hard and a huge focus for next year will definitely be finishing everything strong,” Goolsby said.

Boys varsity wrestling Lead by coach Ryan Faintich and captain Raven Castro, boys wrestling was quite successful this year, with five wrestlers taking home medals at League Finals which were hosted at Beverly. The three victors were Raven Castro (Gold), Elijah Klapper (Silver), Greg Yaroshevsky (Bronze), Kyle Khalili (Bronze) and Mohamed Sadhegi (Bronze). CIF competition starts today.

“The season was very challenging because a majority of our varsity team graduated last year. We were very disorganized in the beginning, but captain Raven Castro was there to guide us. As the season progressed, we became more and more close until we were like a family again. We didn’t succeed in our goal of being league champions, but we did succeed in our goal of reuniting the team,” Bronze medal winning Yaroshevsky said.

Girls LAX coach hired

Eric Ross: a fan favorite Sadie Hersh photo editor “We want Eric!” chants Beverly’s energetic fans in the last few minutes of the varsity basketball game against Santa Monica High School. After the crowd repeated themselves a few times, Coach Jarvis Turner put junior Eric Ross in the game.

Ross has been a member of the “Bevball fam” since he was a freshman. Playing his first two years on the JV team, he was moved up to varsity this past year. Although he is one of the smallest players on the team, and gets little playing time, he is a fan favorite!

At the last home game against Santa Monica High School, the student body held up posters of the seniors’ faces, but in the crowd you could see a fan holding up Ross’s face taped to a yard stick. He was the only non-senior player with a poster.

Toward the end of that game, as the Normans were leading, the crowd began to roar, “Eric Ross!” until Coach Turner put him in the game with two minutes in the fourth quarter and a noticible lead.

When Ross stepped on the court the student section erupted with excitement. As the clock counted down, it was already known that the Normans would win, giving the varsity team an undefeated league record. The game ended with Ross

A Norman fan created a fathead of Ross’ face to hold during a home game against SAMO to help pump up the fans.

Photo by: SADIE HERSH standing center court dribbling the clock out as the student body shouted, “Five, four, three, two, one!” Ross then threw the ball in the air and the crowd went wild.

The question is, why Eric Ross?

The team has many talented seniors, like Chance Comanche, Ryan Manoocheri and Trevor Bergher, but they do not get the crowd rallied up like Ross does.

Junior Blake Ackerman said, “Eric is a fan favorite because he’s a likeable guy and he’s friendly even if he doesn’t know who you are.” Ackerman went on to say, “Eric is definitely key to the team considering that all of his teammates like to be around him and he has special handshakes with each starter.”

“It’s what he does off the court.

He is such a likeable kid and we all want to see Eric succeed,” senior Mason Leib said.

Fans love Ross for his admirable qualities and encouraging nature. When the students cheer his name and Coach Turner puts him in the game, the crowds feeds off of Ross’s energy as they rally the Normans to a victory.

“He is a team player, he is super supportive of everyone, always has a smile on his face, and he is just a great kid over all,” junior Lena Koumetz said.

As the varsity team goes into the CIF playoffs and strives for the championship, Ross will be hard at work preparing and encouraging his team, as the rest of the gym will be preparing to be cheering for him.

Calloway addressing her team. Photo by: VERONICA PAHOMOVA Veronica Pahomova cartoonist Despite rumors of girls lacrosse not returning for the spring season, they have proved those rumors false and are destined to begin their practices. However, this time they return with a new team and coach. According to the players, the possibilities for this season are endless.

This year, Mariel Calloway has been hired to coach both the girls varsity and JV lacrosse teams.

Playing since she was 14 years old, Calloway has spent years of her life dedicated to the sport.

“I needed a sport for PE credit and this one was new and exciting.

At the time I lived in a small suburban town in Texas and I had never even heard of the sport before. I first found out about it when I saw kids walking down the hallways

with sticks,” Calloway said.

After giving in to her curiosity, Calloway tried out for her school’s lacrosse team and made JV. Even when she moved to a different school, she still couldn’t be separated from her sport and continued to play throughout her high school years, and then later on a club team in her college days.

“I’m still finding my footing in the Beverly community, and learning my team and players. So far, it looks like we’ve got a great bunch of players!” Calloway said.

From playing lacrosse in a suburban town in Texas, to the rowing team in Princeton, to Beverly, Calloway is looking forward to coaching the JV and varsity team as well as their upcoming seasons.

Though she’s a new addition to the coaching staff, Calloway is already accepted by her new team.